Dynamic supramolecular snub cubes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wu, Huang; Wang, Yu; Dordevic, Luka; Kundu, Pramita; Bhunia, Surojit; Chen, Aspen X. -Y.; Feng, Liang; Shen, Dengke; Liu, Wenqi; Zhang, Long; Song, Bo; Wu, Guangcheng; Liu, Bai-Tong; Yang, Moon Young; Yang, Yong; Stern, Charlotte L.; Stupp, Samuel I.; Goddard, William A., III; Hu, Wenping; Stoddart, J. Fraser
• 署名单位: Tianjin University; Tianjin University; University of Hong Kong; University of Padua; Northwestern University; Duke University; Anhui University; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, CAS; Anhui University; State University System of Florida; University of South Florida; California Institute of Technology; City University of Hong Kong; Northwestern University; Northwestern University; Northwestern University; Northwestern University; University of New South Wales Sydney; Zhejiang University
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-2873
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08266-3
• 发表日期: 2025-01-09
• 页码: 347-353
• 关键词: photocyclization; polyhedra; chirality

摘要

Mimicking the superstructures and properties of spherical biological encapsulants such as viral capsids(1) and ferritin(2) offers viable pathways to understand their chiral assemblies and functional roles in living systems. However, stereospecific assembly of artificial polyhedra with mechanical properties and guest-binding attributes akin to biological encapsulants remains a formidable challenge. Here we report the stereospecific assembly of dynamic supramolecular snub cubes from 12 helical macrocycles, which are held together by 144 weak C-H hydrogen bonds(3). The enantiomerically pure snub cubes, which have external diameters of 5.1 nm, contain 2,712 atoms and chiral cavities with volumes of 6,215 angstrom(3). The stereospecific assembly of left- and right-handed snub cubes was achieved by means of a hierarchical chirality transfer protocol(4), which was streamlined by diastereoselective crystallization. In addition to their reversible photochromic behaviour, the snub cubes exhibit photocontrollable elasticity and hardness in their crystalline states. The snub cubes can accommodate numerous small guest molecules simultaneously and encapsulate two different guest molecules separately inside the uniquely distinct compartments in their frameworks. This research expands the scope of artificial supramolecular assemblies to imitate the chiral superstructures, dynamic features and binding properties of spherical biomacromolecules and also establishes a protocol for construction of crystalline materials with photocontrollable mechanical properties.