Predisposition in Dynamic Covalent Chemistry: The Role of Non-Covalent Interactions in the Assembly of Tetrahedral Boronate Cages

This study explores these challenges by synthesizing boronic acid tripods with varied oxygen positions at the tripodal feet and investigating their role in assembling tetrahedral boronate MOCs. Our results reveal substantial differences in the assembly efficiency among tripods. While the building blocks with oxygen in the benzylic position relative to the central aromatic ring form the MOCs in high yields, those with the oxygen atom directly bound to the central aromatic ring, only yield traces. Through X-ray crystallography and DFT analyses, we elucidate how intramolecular interactions profoundly influence the geometry of the building blocks and cages in a relay-like fashion, highlighting the importance of considering intramolecular interactions in the rational design of (supra)molecular architectures.PMID:38507133 | DOI:10.1002/chem.202400896
Source: Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Source Type: research