Pseudo‐heterolepticity in Low‐Symmetry Metal‐Organic Cages
James E. M. Lewis
Abstract
Heteroleptic metal-organic cages, formed through integrative self-assembly of ligand mixtures, are highly attractive as reduced symmetry supramolecular hosts. Ensuring high-fidelity, non-statistical self-assembly, however, presents a significant challenge in molecular engineering due to the inherent difficulty in predicting thermodynamic energy landscapes. In this work, two conceptual strategies are described that circumvent this issue, using ligand design strategies to access structurally sophisticated metal-organic hosts. Using these approaches, it was possible to realise cavity environments described by two inequivalent, unsymmetrical ligand frameworks, representing a significant step forward in the construction of highly anisotropic confined spaces.