2023/07/12
Keio University
A research group led by Professor Naoya Kumagai of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Keio University has newly designed and synthesized the quinoline trimer oxa-TriQuinoline (o-TQ) as a novel crown molecule with moderate steric freedom, and has revealed its diverse functionalities.
Porphyrins and crown ethers are crown molecules characterized by their long-known macrocyclic structures. They have been extensively studied because they acquire various molecular functions in response to the capture of various metal ions in their central cavities.
In this study, we designed a hybrid molecule, o-TQ, by extracting the structural characteristics of porphyrins, which are rigid and planar nitrogen-based crowns, and crown ethers, which are flexible and three-dimensional oxygen-based crowns, and established a simple method for its synthesis. o-TQ shows potential as a new type of crown-shaped, multidimensional functional molecule, distinct from porphyrins and crown ethers, and further functional development is expected through structural modification.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of the international academic journal "Angewandte Chemie International Edition" on July 3, 2023 (Central European Summer Time).
Key Points of This Research
Designed o-TQ, a three-dimensional tridentate ligand, by extracting the structural characteristics of porphyrins and crown ethers.
By optimizing synthesis conditions, o-TQ can now be easily synthesized from commercially available compounds.
Demonstrated AIE properties, supramolecular complex formation ability, and catalytic activity upon capturing monovalent copper ions.
By encapsulating various transition metal ions to form metal complexes, multidimensional functional molecule development, including further unexplored catalytic reactions, is expected.
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