A precise polyrotaxane synthesizer
Yunyan Qiu, Bo Song, Cristian Pezzato, Dengke Shen, Wenqi Liu, Long Zhang, Yuanning Feng, Qing‐Hui Guo, Kang Cai, Weixingyue Li, Hongliang Chen, Minh T. Nguyen, Yi Shi, Chuyang Cheng, R. Dean Astumian, Xiaopeng Li, J. Fraser Stoddart
Abstract
Ten rings on one axle Rotaxanes consist of molecular rings threaded on a central axle. Most approaches to their synthesis have focused on introducing a single ring per axle. Qiu et al. now report a systematic approach to threading up to 10 adjacent rings consecutively. The axle's end groups were constructed to attract free-floating rings when reduced and then to push those rings toward the center upon oxidation. Products of each successive reduction-oxidation cycle were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Science , this issue p. 1247