Journal article icon

Journal article

Masked alkynes for synthesis of threaded carbon chains

Abstract:
Polyynes are chains of sp1 carbon atoms with alternating single and triple bonds. As they become longer, they evolve towards carbyne, the 1D allotrope of carbon, and they become increasingly unstable. It has been anticipated that long polyynes could be stabilized by supramolecular encapsulation, by threading them through macrocycles to form polyrotaxanes—but, until now, polyyne polyrotaxanes with many threaded macrocycles have been synthetically inaccessible. Here we show that masked alkynes, in which the C≡C triple bond is temporarily coordinated to cobalt, can be used to synthesize polyrotaxanes, up to the C68 [5]rotaxane with 34 contiguous triple bonds and four threaded macrocycles. This is the length regime at which the electronic properties of polyynes converge to those of carbyne. Cyclocarbons constitute a related family of molecular carbon allotropes, and cobalt-masked alkynes also provide a route to [3]catenanes and [5]catenanes built around cobalt complexes of cyclo[40]carbon and cyclo[80]carbon, respectively.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

Actions


Access Document


Files:
Publisher copy:
10.1038/s41557-023-01374-z

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Chemistry
Sub department:
Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-1252-7032
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Chemistry
Sub department:
Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-1856-7959
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Chemistry
Sub department:
Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-5002-7592
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Chemistry
Sub department:
Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-8258-860X
More by this author
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-3094-9762


More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/0472cxd90
Grant:
885606


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Nature Chemistry More from this journal
Volume:
16
Issue:
2
Pages:
193–200
Place of publication:
England
Publication date:
2023-11-16
Acceptance date:
2023-10-17
DOI:
EISSN:
1755-4349
ISSN:
1755-4330
Pmid:
37973943


Language:
English
Pubs id:
1567450
Local pid:
pubs:1567450
Deposit date:
2023-11-19

Terms of use



Views and Downloads






If you are the owner of this record, you can report an update to it here: Report update to this record

TO TOP