Imidazolium functionalized carboxylic acid forms a multi-component material with p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene and aquated lanthanide ions, stabilising dinuclear metal complexes for Y(3+) and Gd(3+). These have the simplest binding of two bridging carboxylates between the two metal centres (Y(3+)), or the same arrangement along with the simplest binding of one carboxylate bridging two metal ions for the larger metal ion (Gd(3+)).
Co(III) sarcophagine-type cage molecules, [Co(diCLsar)](3+) or [Co(HONOsar)](3+), form either 1 : 1 or 1 : 2 host-guest inclusion complexes with mono-phosphonium cations and sodium p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene in the solid state yielding complex I [p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene·Co(diCLsar)·2{benzyltriphenylphosphonium}], complex II [2{p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene}·Co(diCLsar)·3{tetraphenylphosphonium}] and complex III [p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene·Co(HONOsar)·tetraphenylphosphonium]. The diversity of the structural types of these multi-component systems, including the orientation of the Co(III) molecules in the cavities of the calixarenes, depends on the nature of their terminal functional groups. The secondary coordination interactions binding between the Co(III) molecules and p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene have also been investigated in water using NMR techniques.
Addition of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (C(n)-mim) cations 3-5 to a mixture of bis-phosphonium cation 2 and sodium p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene (1) in the presence of lanthanide ions results in the selective binding of an imidazolium cation into the cavity of the calixarene. The result is a multi-layered solid material with an inherently flexible interplay of the components. Incorporating ethyl-, n-butyl- or n-hexyl-mim cations into the multi-layers results in significant perturbation of the structure, the most striking effect is the tilting of the plane of the bowl-shaped calixarene relative to the plane of the multi-layer, with tilt angles of 7.2, 28.9 and 65.5 degrees , respectively. The lanthanide ions facilitate complexation, but are not incorporated into the structures and, in all cases, the calixarene takes on a 5- charge, with one of the lower-rim phenolic groups deprotonated. ROESY NMR experiments and other (1)H NMR spectroscopy studies establish the formation of 1:1 supermolecules of C(n)-mim and calixarene, regardless of the ratio of the two components, and indicate that the supermolecules undergo rapid exchange on the NMR spectroscopy timescale.
We report on the assembly of three-fold axially compressed icosahedral arrays of the bowl shaped p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene molecules in the solid-state, intricately bound to dipicolinate and yttrium(iii) ions, with the compression reflected in Hirshfeld surface analyses. Solution studies show dissolution of the icosahedra intact, but with a geometrical rearrangement to regular icosahedra.
A diversity of two-dimensional nanomaterials has recently emerged with recent attention turning to the post-transition metal elements, in particular material derived from liquid metals and eutectic melts below 330 °C where processing is more flexible and in the temperature regime suitable for industry. This has been explored for liquid gallium using an angled vortex fluidic device (VFD) to fabricate ultrathin gallium oxide (Ga2O3) sheets under continuous flow conditions. We have established the nanosheets to form highly insulating material and have electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution, with a Tafel slope of 39 mV dec-1 revealing promoting effects of the surface oxidation (passivation layer).