Self-assembled Pd6 open cage with triimidazole walls and the use of its confined nanospace for catalytic Knoevenagel- and Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous medium.
The two-component self-assembly of a 90° Pd(II)  acceptor and a triimidazole donor led to the formation of a water-soluble semi-cylindrical cage with a hydrophobic cavity, which was separately crystallized with hydrophilic- and hydrophobic guests. The parent cage was found to catalyze the Knoevenagel condensation reaction of a series of aromatic mono-aldehydes with active methylene compounds, such as Meldrum's acid or 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid. The confined hydrophobic nanospace within this cage was also used in the catalytic Diels-Alder reactions of 9-hydroxymethylanthracene with N-phenylmaleimide or N-cyclohexylmaleimide.
Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institution of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India.
Dipak
D
Samanta
Sandip
S
Mukherjee
Yogesh P
YP
Patil
Partha Sarathi
PS
Mukherjee
D000873:Anthracenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D004146:Dioxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water
D000873:Anthracenes; D004146:Dioxanes; D007093:Imidazoles; D014867:Water; C049587:9-hydroxymethylanthracene; D010165:Palladium; C076489:Meldrum's acid