Self-Assembly of Chiral Metal-Organic Tetartoid

Chiral coordination cages feature both chirality and defined inner space, providing advanced molecular materials. A series of chiral 20-nucleus cobalt-imidazolate cages were synthesized by self-assembly of 72 subcomponents, featuring a novel tetartoid (tetragonal pentagonal dodecahedron) structure. Spontaneous resolution of racemic tetartoidal cages (Delta and Lambda) into a conglomerate of homochiral crystals are observed, while both homochiral Delta and Lambda tetartoidal cages can be obtained through chiral induction of (D)- and (L)-enantiomers of menthol, respectively. The 2-methyl substituent on imidazolyl is critical to the formation of a tetartoidal cage, and the absence of such steric effect will switch the final structure to a cubic cage.