Structural Interconversions and Guest Binding Properties of Tetrakis(formylpyridine)-Based Pseudo -Cubic and Trigonal-Prismatic Metal–Organic Capsules

Here, we report a new tetrakis(formylpyridine) subcomponent that was designed to assemble with anilines and ZnII to afford a set of structurally distinct metal-organic cage structure types. By modulating the metal-to-ligand stoichiometry, we obtained a pseudo-cubic Zn₈L₆ cage and an open Zn₆L₃ trigonal prism, the former featuring a diastereomeric configuration of faces and vertices that had not been previously observed. Addition of a tritopic subcomponent yielded a Zn₆L₃L'₂ heteroleptic capped trigonal prism, which could also be prepared via a combination of the homoleptic cages formed by the two individual ligands. The capped trigonal prism encapsulated the pollutant perfluorobutanesulfonate and the oxidant tetracyanoquinodimethane, both technologically relevant guests.