Self-Assembly of Diamondoid Clusters in Helium Nanodroplets Driven by Noncovalent Interactions

This focused review deals with the self-organization of diamondoid supramolecular complexes that are held together by intermolecular interactions. The cluster formation of diamondoid molecules in the very weakly interacting environment of superfluid helium droplets was experimentally and theoretically investigated. Diamantane and derivatives such as diamondoid ethers, alcohols, and acids offer a variety of geometries and intermolecular interactions contributing to the shape and stability of the formed complexes that were examined and compared. For hydrocarbons and ethers, London dispersion was the main driving force for cluster formation, but the clusters of the two series differed in magic number abundancies. On the other hand, hydrogen bonding provided diverse supramolecular networks for alcohols and carboxylic acids, with cage substitution patterns playing a significant role for resulting cluster structures.