Golden Molecular Tweezers: Dinuclear Corannulene–Au(I) Acetylide Hosts for Fullerene Binding
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide A series of homonuclear bimetallic organometallic complexes bearing two Au(I) atoms and two corannulene fragments have been synthesized, and their fullerene recognition properties were extensively studied in solution. The tether groups were diphosphine ligands with variable rigidity (namely, dppe, dppf, dppbenz, and xantphos) to cover a range of potential semisupported intramolecular aurophilic interactions. Experimental results showed that neither extreme flexibility nor rigidity favors fullerene binding, and in those cases where the metallophilic contact is present and assured by ligand design, this force might hinder the supramolecular assembly formation. Computational calculations clearly indicate that the aurophilic interaction is just another force that is playing a moderate role within the manifold forces involved in the recognition process. The most notable finding corresponded to host CAudppf, which exhibited the highest experimental performance toward fullerene binding within the studied family due to its good preorganization in a tweezer-like conformation despite the lack of proper aurophilic contact. Thorough theoretical studies strongly suggested that the Au(I)–Au(I) distance can be shortened upon complexation, effectively turning on the metallophilic interactions.
Source: Inorganic Chemistry
Institutions: Universidad de Valladolid, Ohio University
Language: English
Subfield: Organic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, Ohio University, Banco Santander, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Universidad de Valladolid, American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Division of Chemistry
Awards: G1855990336, G2262748287, G2491557800, G2585926585, G3480869486, G3518538256, G352212935, G3824362713, G425668148, G5421974903, G586857820, G6073309517, G654667917, G6589207596, G6632803221, G7434936867, G7537119184, Dynamic metallo-supramolecular oligomers stabilized by Cucurbit[8]uril connectors: self-assembly applied to combinatorial chemistry, G8620849263, Quantitative assessment of non-covalent interactions in aqueous medium and in hydrophobic cavities using Cucurbiturils
OpenAlex ID: W7147135926