title: Self-assembly of a giant molecular Solomon link from 30 subcomponents.
abstract: The synthesis of topologically complex structures, such as links and knots, is one of the current challenges in supramolecular chemistry. The so-called Solomon link consists of two doubly interlocked rings. Despite being a rather simple link from a topological point of view, only few molecular versions of this link have been described so far. Here, we report the quantitative synthesis of a giant molecular Solomon link from 30 subcomponents. The highly charged structure is formed by assembly of 12 cis-blocked Pt(2+) complexes, six Cu(+) ions, and 12 rigid N-donor ligands. Each of the two interlocked rings is composed of six repeating Pt(ligand) units, while the six Cu(+) ions connect the two rings. With a molecular weight of nearly 12 kDa and a diameter of 44.2 Å, this complex is the largest non-DNA-based Solomon link described so far. Furthermore, it represents a molecular version of a "stick link".
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland).
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schouwey
authors.forename: Julian J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Holstein
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scopelliti
authors.forename: Konstantin O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Zhurov
authors.forename: Konstantin O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Nagornov
authors.forename: Yury O
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Tsybin
authors.forename: Oliver S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bricogne
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Severin
keywords: copper; molecular link; platinum; self-assembly; topology