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Clam‐like Cyclotricatechylene‐based Capsules: Identifying the Roles of Protonation State and Guests as well as the Drivers for Stability and (Anti‐)Cooperativity
Author(s) -
Mehta Nisha,
Abrahams Brendan F.,
Goerigk Lars
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201901767
Subject(s) - protonation , cooperativity , hydrogen bond , dispersion (optics) , alkali metal , chemistry , metal , stability (learning theory) , computational chemistry , crystallography , molecule , organic chemistry , physics , ion , biochemistry , machine learning , computer science , optics
Cyclotricatechylene (ctcH 6 ) is a bowl‐shaped macrocyclic compound that can be used as a building block for self‐assembled capsules. ctcH 6 and its derivatives in various protonation states – here collectively labeled as CTC – form dimers that resemble the shape of a clam. These clam‐shaped entities have been studied experimentally by Abrahams, Robson, and co‐workers [B. F. Abrahams, N. J. FitzGerald, T. A. Hudson, R. Robson and T. Waters, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed . 2009 , 48 , 3129–3132] where the capsules acted as an excellent host for large alkali‐metal cations. In this study, we present a detailed analysis based on accurate dispersion‐corrected Density Functional Theory approaches that reveals the factors that stabilise such CTC‐based capsules at different protonation states and their interaction with various encapsulated guests. Our results show that the capsules’ overall stability results as an interplay of hydrogen bonding, London dispersion, and electrostatic effects. The most stable capsules with group‐1 and group‐2 cations as guests contain only six phenolic hydrogens, as opposed to the maximum possible number of twelve. Inclusion of larger alkali‐metal cations is favoured due to larger London‐dispersion contributions. Cations are favoured as guests over isoelectronic neutral species, as the resulting host‐guest complexes experience additional stability due to cooperative effects. In fact, using the latter to drive the formation of specific capsules could be used in future strategies aimed at synthesising similar aggregates; our results provide an insightful understanding and useful guidance for such future endeavours.