A Molecular Balloon: Expansion of a Molecular Gyrotop Cage Due to Rotation of the Phenylene Rotor

A macrocage molecule with a bridged phenylene rotor has been reported as a molecular gyrotop, because the rotor can rotate even in a crystalline state. Although the most stable cage structure of the molecular gyrotop in a crystal was folded and shrunken at low temperature, expansion of the cage was observed at high temperature due to rapid rotation of the phenylene in a crystal. This phenomenon is analogous to the deflation and inflation of a balloon. Moreover, the unusually large thermal expansion coefficient of the crystal was estimated in the temperature range in which the expansion of the cage was observed, indicating a new function of dynamic states of the molecules.