Interaction Study of Guest with Host in Clathrate Hydrate

Lattice dynamical simulations of noble gas hydrate structuresⅠandⅡhave been performed. Potential energies were investigated to study the influence of guest species on the stability of the hydrate structure.Results show that when the diameter of inclusion molecules is between 3(?)and 4.2(?),such as Ar and Kr,the critical role of the 5~(12)cage in the stabilization of hydrates becomes effective.For Xe hydrates SⅠand SⅡ,with the help of lattice dynamical calcnlations,the modes attributions are identified directly.We proposed the resonant effect of the fingerprint frequency at about 7 meV and 10 meV which arise from the coupling of Xe molecules in the 5~(12)cage with the host lattice.     

Modulation of Guest Partitioning Within Dendrimer–Surfactant Supramolecular Assemblies

ABSTRACT

Electrostatic interactions are used to create a template-assisted supramolecular assembly consisting of a polymeric dendrimer at the core and amphiphilic substrates on the periphery. The dendrimer generation and the chemical structure of the amphiphiles are varied to construct multiple and distinct microenvironments within the dendrimer–ligand complex for encapsulation of small guest molecules. In particular, these investigations employ a guest molecule that is a neutral fluorescent probe that exhibits an emission wavelength with an extreme sensitivity to the polarity of its surroundings. Partitioning of the fluorophore within the various microregions of the dendrimer–surfactant supramolecular complex is distinguished by the characteristic emission wavelengths of the overlapping Gaussian functions comprising the overall fluorescence spectrum. The observed variations in the prodan emission spectrum suggest interaction of prodan at protonated amino groups (460-nm emission), within dendritic branches and surfactant tails (490-nm emission), and in interior regions of the dendrimer core (430-nm emission). We demonstrate that the positioning of the guest molecule within the supramolecular complex can be modulated through the selection of dendrimer generation, surfactant chain length, and dendrimer:surfactant concentration ratio.     

Host–Guest Recognition and Fluorescence of a Tetraphenylethene-Based Octacationic Cage

We report the synthesis and characterization of a three-dimensional tetraphenylethene-based octacationic cage that shows host–guest recognition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. coronene) in organic media and water-soluble dyes (e.g. sulforhodamine 101) in aqueous media through CH⋅⋅⋅π, π–π, and/or electrostatic interactions. The cage⊃coronene exhibits a cuboid internal cavity with a size of approximately 17.2×11.0×6.96 ų and a “hamburger”-type host–guest complex, which is hierarchically stacked into 1D nanotubes and a 3D supramolecular framework. The free cage possesses a similar cavity in the crystalline state. Furthermore, a host–guest complex formed between the octacationic cage and sulforhodamine 101 had a higher absolute quantum yield (Φ_F=28.5 %), larger excitation–emission gap (Δλ_ex-em=211 nm), and longer emission lifetime (τ=7.0 ns) as compared to the guest (Φ_F=10.5 %; Δλ_ex-em=11 nm; τ=4.9 ns), and purer emission (Δλ_FWHM=38 nm) as compared to the host (Δλ_FWHM=111 nm).     

Host–Guest Doping in Flexible Organic Crystals for Room-Temperature Phosphorescence

Organic single crystals (OSCs) with excellent flexibility and unique optical properties are of great importance due to their broad applicability in optical/optoelectronic devices and sensors. Nevertheless, fabricating flexible OSCs with room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) remains a great challenge. Herein, we propose a host–guest doping strategy to achieve both RTP and flexibility of OSCs. The single-stranded crystal is highly bendable upon external force application and can immediately return to its original straight shape after removal of the stress, impressively emitting bright deep-red phosphorescence. The theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the bright RTP arises from Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the triphenylene molecules to the dopants. This strategy is both conceptually and synthetically simple and offers a universal approach for the preparation of flexible OSCs with RTP.     

Phase Diagram of the Benzene–Dinitratotetrapyridinecopper(II) (Guest–Host) System and Thermodynamic Parameters for the Hostβ2Guest Clathrate Dissociation

In the first part of the work, thephase diagram of the benzene -ndash;[CuPy⁴(NO³)²] system has beendetermined in the -100 to +200 °C temperaturerange using DTA and solubility techniques. The onlycompound found in the system is the[CuPy⁴(NO³)²] 2C⁶H⁶clathrate. It is stable up to a temperature of+104.2(5) °C at which it melts incongruently togive liquid and the solid [CuPy⁴(NO³)²]host phase. At 146.1(5) °C exfoliation into twoliquid phases is observed, with the composition of themonotectic point being close to that of the clathrate.In the second part of the work, thermodynamicparameters of the clathrate dissociation have beendetermined from benzene vapour pressure strainmeasurements. For the process1/2 [CuPy⁴(NO³)²]2C⁶H⁶(solid) = 1/2 [CuPy⁴(NO³)²] (solid) +C⁶H⁶ (gas) H° = 45.3(3) kJ/mole; S₂₉₈° = 126(1) J/(mole K); G₂₉₈° = 7.7(5) kJ/mole.     

Guest–Host Interactions in Hofmann-Td-type Aniline Clathrates: IR Spectral Study

Synthesis and IR spectra of novel Hofmann-T _d -type aniline clathrates, M(NH₃)₂Zn(CN)₄· 2C₆H₅NH₂ (M = Zn or Cd) are reported for the first time. All the vibrational modes of aniline are characterised. The shifts in _a (NH₂) and _s (NH₂) reveal hydrogen bonding between the NH₂ group of aniline and the cyanide group of the host lattice to be stronger than in Hofmann-type aniline clathrates. However, the out of plane deformation mode of aniline indicates absence of hydrogen bonding between ammonia and the -cloud of the aniline ring. The related aniline clathrates with bridging Cd(CN)₄ M(NH₃)₂Cd(CN)₄· 2C₆H₅NH₂ (M=Zn or Cd), exhibit similar behaviour.     

Electrochemical Detection of Host–Guest Interactions of Dicarboximide Pesticides with Cyclodextrins

Electrochemical methods sensitively detect the formation of host–guest complexes of cyclodextrins and three redox-active pesticides: vinclozoline (3-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-5-methyl-5-vinyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2,4-dione), iprodione (3-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-N-(1-methylethyl)-2,4-dioxo-1-imidazolidinecarboxamide), and procymidone (3-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-1,5-dimethyl-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,4-dione). The protecting environment of the CD cavity allows a four-electron heterogeneous reaction leading to a preferential cleavage of the C–Cl bonds and conservation of the heterocycle structure for a further second electron transfer step. This interpretation is supported by numerical simulation of the voltammetric curves and by quantum-chemical calculations of the LUMO changes of vinclozoline. Electrochemical detection of these host–guest interactions is far superior to the spectral methods.     

Guest Binding with Sulfated Cyclodextrins: Does the Size of Cavity Matter?

Sulfated cyclodextrins have recently emerged as potential candidates for producing host–induced guest aggregation with properties better than p-sulfonatocalixarenes that have previously shown numerous applications involving the phenomena of host-induced guest aggregation. In the class of sulfated cyclodextrins (SCD), sulfated β-cyclodextrin (β-SCD) remains the most extensively investigated host molecule. Although it is assumed that the host-induced guest aggregation is predominantly an outcome of interaction of the guest molecule with the charges on the exterior of SCD cavity, it has not been deciphered whether the variation in the cavity size will make a difference in the efficiency of host-induced guest-aggregation process. In this investigation, we present a systematic study of host–induced guest aggregation of a cationic molecular rotor dye, Thioflavin T (ThT) with three different sulfated cyclodextrin molecules, α-SCD, β-SCD and γ-SCD, which differ in their cavity size, using steady-state emission, ground-state absorption and time-resolved emission measurements. The obtained photophysical properties of ThT, upon interaction with different SCD molecules, indicate that the binding strength of ThT with different SCD molecules correlate with the cavity size of the host molecule, giving rise to the strongest complexation of ThT with the largest host molecule (γ-SCD). The binding affinity of ThT towards different host molecules has been supported by molecular docking calculations. The results obtained are further supported with the temperature and ionic strength dependent studies performed on the host-guest complex. Our results indicate that for host–induced guest aggregation, involving oppositely charged molecules, the size of the cavity also plays a crucial role beside the charge density on the exterior of host cavity.     

The Role of Guest Molecules in the Self-assembly of Metal—ligand Clusters

Abstract

Understanding the self-assembly of nanoscale metal—ligand clusters is an important research area in supramolecular chemistry, especially, if one wishes to develop a truly predictive design strategy for synthesizing these nanoscale clusters. As the building blocks for forming these clusters have become larger and more complex, spacious clusters have been synthesized which often contain large cavities. These assemblies can house guest molecules which play a previously uncharacterized role in the self-assembly processes. We seek to analyze this role: do these guest molecules act as templates? Are the guest molecules necessary for cluster formation? Does the guest drive cluster assemble by forming a stable host—guest complex with the cluster? Must a truly rational design strategy for forming metal—ligand clusters incorporate the use of templates? The role of guest molecules in the self-assembly of nanoscale coordination clusters is reviewed in this article.     

Carbon Dots in Porous Materials: Host–Guest Synergy for Enhanced Performance

Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as a new class of carbon nanomaterials, which have inspired growing interest for their widespread applications in anti-counterfeiting, sensing, bioimaging, optoelectronic and energy-related fields. In terms of the concept of host–guest assembly, immobilizing CDs into porous materials (PMs) has proven to be an effective strategy to avoid the aggregation of bare CDs in solid state, in particular, the host—guest synergy with both merits of CDs and PMs affords composites promising properties in afterglow and tunable emissions, as well as optimizes their performance in optics, catalysis, and energy storage. This Minireview summarizes the recent progress in the research of CDs@PMs, and highlights synthetic strategies of constructing composites and roles of porous matrices in boosting the applications of CDs in diverse areas. The prospect of future exploration and challenges are proposed for designing advanced CDs-based functional nanocomposite materials.     

Constructing Adaptive Photosensitizers via Supramolecular Modification Based on Pillararene Host–Guest Interactions

In order to promote the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT), undesired side effects like low tumor specificity and the “always-on” phenomenon should be avoided. An effective solution is to construct an adaptive photosensitizer that can be activated to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tumor microenvironment. Herein, we design and synthesize a supramolecular switch based on a host–guest complex containing a water-soluble pillar[5]arene ( WP5 ) and an AIEgen photosensitizer ( G ). The formation of the host–guest complex WP5 ⊃ G quenches the fluorescence and inhibits ROS generation of G . Benefitting from the pH-responsiveness of WP5 , the binding site between G and WP5 changes in an acidic environment through a shuttle movement. Consequently, fluorescence and ROS generation of the host–guest complex can be switched on at pH 5.0. This work offers a new paradigm for the construction of adaptive photosensitizers by using a supramolecular method.     

Structural Analysis of Host–Guest Systems. Methyl-substituted Phenols in beta;-Cyclodextrin

Complexation trajectories and the variation ofinduced circular dichroism are calculated for thedocking of phenol and 2,4,6-trimethyl-phenol with-cyclodextrin. The results are compared toexperimental chirality data to elucidate themechanism of nonspecific molecular recognitionprocesses in aqueous solution. Large geometricalchanges along nearly isoenergetic Dynamic Monte Carlotrajectories show the conformational flexibility ofsuch host–guest systems. This proves diffuseintermolecular interactions, van der Waals orelectrostatic in nature, as the main contributions to thebinding energy. The number and position of the methylsubstituents of the guest reduces the complexityof the conformational space as the guests positionbecomes fixed by steric constraints.The solvation free energy is calculated from thesolvent accessible surface area weighted byrespective atomic solvation parameters. Consideringthe solvation term in the dynamic simulationsrestricts the conformational flexibility of themacromolecular system. The relative importance ofvarious contributions to the solvation energy isdiscussed and it is shown that those terms arisingfrom the interaction of hydrophobic groups with theaqueous environment are essential for thedetermination of the complex structure. Consideringthese terms in the dynamic simulation model, the signand strength of the calculated rotatory strength isin perfect agreement with induced circular dichroismobtained from experimentally determined averagedspectra. The results demonstrate the accuracy of thegeometrical properties of host–guest systems obtainedfrom these simulations.     

Voltammetric Investigation of Host–Guest Systems in the Absence of a Supporting Electrolyte

Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry - In the classic voltammetric approach to host--guest systems the investigations are carried out in excess of a supporting electrolyte,...     

Structural Fusion Yields Guest Acceptors that Enable Ternary Organic Solar Cells with 18.77 % Efficiency

The design and selection of a suitable guest acceptor are particularly important for improving the photovoltaic performance of ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we designed and successfully synthesized two asymmetric silicon–oxygen bridged guest acceptors, which featured distinct blue-shifted absorption, upshifted lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels, and larger dipole moments than symmetric silicon–oxygen-bridged acceptor. Ternary devices with the incorporation of 14.2 wt % these two asymmetric guest acceptors exhibited excellent performance with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 18.22 % and 18.77 %, respectively. Our success in precise control of material properties via structural fusion of five-membered carbon linkages and six-membered silicon–oxygen connection at the central electron-donating core unit of fused-ring electron acceptors can attract considerable attention and bring new vigor and vitality for developing new materials toward more efficient OSCs.     

Probing Conformational Changes of Ubiquitin by Host–Guest Chemistry Using Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

We report mechanistic studies of structural changes of ubiquitin (Ub) by host–guest chemistry with cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) combined with circular dichroism spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. CB[6] binds selectively to lysine (Lys) residues of proteins. Low energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the protein-CB[6] complex reveals CB[6] binding sites. We previously reported (Anal. Chem. 2011, 83, 7916–7923) shifts in major charge states along with Ub-CB[6] complexes in the ESI-MS spectrum with addition of CB[6] to Ub from water. We also reported that CB[6] is present only at Lys₆ or Lys₁₁ in high charge state (+13) complex. In this study, we provide additional information to explain unique conformational change mechanisms of Ub by host–guest chemistry with CB[6] compared with solvent-driven conformational change of Ub. Additional CID study reveals that CB[6] is bound only to Lys₄₈ and Lys₆₃ in low charge state (+7) complex. MD simulation studies reveal that the high charge state complexes are attributed to the CB[6] bound to Lys₁₁. The complexation prohibits salt bridge formation between Lys₁₁ and Glu₃₄ and induces conformational change of Ub. This results in formation of high charge state complexes in the gas phase. Then, by utilizing stronger host–guest chemistry of CB[6] with pentamethylenediamine, refolding of Ub via detaching CB[6] from the protein is performed. Overall, this study gives an insight into the mechanism of denatured Ub ion formation via host-guest interactions with CB[6]. Furthermore, this provides a direction for designing function-controllable supramolecular system comprising proteins and synthetic host molecules.      

Toward Expanded Diversity of Host–Guest Interactions via Synthesis and Characterization of Cyclodextrin Derivatives

Researchers developing software to predict the binding constants of small molecules for proteins have, in recent years, turned to host–guest systems as simple, computationally tractable model systems to test and improve these computational methods. However, taking full advantage of this strategy requires aqueous host–guest systems that probe a greater diversity of chemical interactions. Here, we advance the development of an experimental platform to generate such systems by building on the cyclodextrin (CD) class of hosts. The secondary face derivative mono-3-carboxypropionamido-β-cyclodextrin (CP-β-CD) was synthesized in a one-pot strategy with 87% yield, and proved to have much greater aqueous solubility than native β-CD. The complexation of anionic CP-β-CD with the cationic drug rimantadine hydrochloride was explored using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance; NOESY analysis showed secondary face binding of the ammonium moiety of the guest, based on cross-correlations between the amic acid functionality and the side-chain of rimantadine. Isothermal titration calorimetry was furthermore used to determine the standard Gibbs energy and enthalpy for this binding reaction, and the results were compared with those of rimantadine with native β-CD.     

Polyoxometalate-Cyclodextrin-Based Cluster-Organic Supramolecular Framework for Polysulfide Conversion and Guest–Host Recognition in Lithium-sulfur Batteries

Developing polyoxometalate-cyclodextrin cluster-organic supramolecular framework (POM-CD-COSF) still remains challenging due to an extremely difficult task in rationally interconnecting two dissimilar building blocks. Here we report an unprecedented POM-CD-COSF crystalline structure produced through the self-assembly process of a Krebs-type POM, [Zn₂(WO₂)₂(SbW₉O₃₃)₂]¹⁰⁻, and two β-CD units. The as-prepared POM-CD-COSF-based battery separator can be applied as a lightweight barrier (approximately 0.3 mg cm⁻²) to mitigate the polysulfide shuttle effect in lithium-sulfur batteries. The designed Li−S batteries equipped with the POM-CD-COSF modified separator exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance, attributed to fast Li⁺ diffusion through the supramolecular channel of β-CD, efficient polysulfide-capture ability by the dynamic host–guest interaction of β-CD, and improved sulfur redox kinetics by the bidirectional catalysis of POM cluster. This research provides a broad perspective for the development of multifunctional supramolecular POM frameworks and their applications in Li−S batteries.     

Analysis of Solid-State Luminescence Emission Amplification at Substituted Anthracenes by Host–Guest Complex Formation

Small robust organic molecules showing solid-state luminescence are promising candidates for optoelectronic materials. Herein, we investigate a series of diphenylphosphanyl anthracenes [9-PPh₂-10-R-(C₁₄H₈)] and their sulfur oxidised analogues. The oxidation causes drastic changes in the molecular structure as the new orientation of the bulky (S)PPh₂ substituent induces a strong butterfly bent structure of the anthracene core, which triggers a strong bathochromic shift resulting in a green solid-state fluorescence. As the emission properties change only slightly upon aggregation the origin of the emission is attributed to a typical monomer fluorescence. The host–guest complexes of [9-(S)PPh₂-10-Ethyl-(C₁₄H₈)] with four basic arenes reveal an emission enhancement up to five-times higher quantum yields compared to the pure host. Less interchromophoric interactions and a restriction of intramolecular motion within the host molecules due to fixation by weak C−H⋅⋅⋅π interactions with the co-crystallised arene are responsible for that emission enhancement.