NMR-Based Structure Determination of an Intertwined Coordination Cage Resembling a Double Trefoil Knot

摘要

Understanding and controlling the topology of self-assembled structures plays a fundamental role in supramolecular chemistry. Especially the topologically nontrivial knot structures have attracted tremendous interest, not least because of their aesthetic appeal. Important representatives that were synthesized during the last decades include the Hopf link (2-catenane), the trefoil knot, Solomon's link, the pentafoil knot, and Borromean rings. In combination with well-defined cavities inside supramolecular cages, the chiral and/ or low-symmetric environment imposed by such nontrivial topologies may further contribute to the developments in the field of enzyme-like nanoreactors.