Metal-atom impact on the self-assembly of cup-and-ball metalloporphyrin-fullerene conjugates

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2015 Jan 19;54(4):1255-60. doi: 10.1002/anie.201409487. Epub 2014 Nov 27.

Abstract

A fullerene ammonium derivative has been combined with different metalloporphyrin-crown ether receptors to generate very stable supramolecules. The combination of fullerene-porphyrin and ammonium-crown ether interactions leads to a strong chelate effect as evidenced by a high effective molarity (3.16 M). The different parameters influencing the stability of the supramolecular ensembles, in particular the nature of the metal in the porphyrin moiety, have been rationalized with the help of theoretical calculations thus providing new insights into fullerene-porphyrin interactions.

Keywords: crown compounds; fullerenes; molecular modeling; porphyrins; supramolecular chemistry.