title: A switchable palladium-complexed molecular shuttle and its metastable positional isomers.
abstract: We report the design, synthesis, characterization, and operation of a [2]rotaxane in which a palladium-complexed macrocycle can be translocated between 4-dimethylaminopyridine and pyridine monodentate ligand sites via reversible protonation, the metal remaining coordinated to the macrocycle throughout. The substitution pattern of the ligands and the kinetic stability of the Pd-N bond means that changing the chemical state of the thread does not automatically cause a change in the macrocycle's position in the absence of an additional input (heat and/or coordinating solvent/anion). Accordingly, under ambient conditions any of the four sets of protonated and neutral, stable, and metastable co-conformers of the [2]rotaxane can be selected, manipulated, isolated, and characterized.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lusby
authors.forename: Roy T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: McBurney
authors.forename: Laure-Emmanuelle
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Perret-Aebi
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petzold
authors.forename: Alexandra M Z
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Slawin
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Symes