The creation of molecular-scale photonic devices requires supramolecular logic elements.1-3 Although the study of supramolecular photochemistry is still in its infancy, it is clear that it offers much greater diversity than single-molecule systems. These components may permit access to complex photophysical processes, such as vectorial energy transfer, energy migration, and optical switching.4 ...

Synthetic catalysts have previously been developed where a stimulus can be used to turn the catalytic activity ‘on’ or ‘off’ or to change the stereochemical outcome of a reaction. Here we report on an articial system that can switch between two different modes of organocatalysis, each promoting a different chemical transformation. The result is a molecular catalyst that can be used to produce ...

Fast shuttling motions in solution have been observed by cyclic voltammetry in a Cu(I/II)-based [2] rotaxane. In the reported system, the different coordination preferences of both copper oxidation states are exploited to promote the electrochemically-triggered gliding of the ring from a tetra to a pentacoordinated site and vice versa. The thread of this rotaxane consists of a tridentate 2,2':6...

Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy is used to investigate the inter-component motion of an ultraviolet-triggered two-station molecular shuttle. The operation cycle of this molecular shuttle involves several intermediate species, which are observable in the amide I and amide II regions of the mid-IR spectrum. Using ab initio calculations on specific parts of the rotaxane, and by comparing th...

A new rotaxane containing the 3-amido-phenyl-triazolium group incorporated into the interlocked structure's axle component has been prepared by a chloride anion templated clipping strategy. Proton NMR titration experiments reveal that the interlocked host displays a high degree of halide anion recognition in competitive 1 : 1 CDCl3-CD3OD solvent mixture. Chloride and bromide anions are bound st...

Distance determination: The use of pulsed electron-electron double resonance (PELDOR/DEER) spectroscopy to determine the distances among the end units of a paramagnetic cucurbit[6]uril-based rotaxane is demonstrated.

The synthesis of rotaxane-type species composed of pyrene macrocycles and SWNTs as linear components is described. Pyrene-SWNT interactions help template the ring-closing metathesis of U-shaped precursors around the nanotubes.

We report the first bis-imidazolium-containing rotaxane, synthesised via anion templated self-assembly. Its co-conformation is controlled by a chloride anion recognition mechanism, thus demonstrating the viability of this protocol as a stimulus for shuttling molecular motion.

INHIBIT logic gates based on light-driven β-cyclodextrin pseudo[1]rotaxane were conveniently fabricated in aqueous solution utilizing induced circular dichroism (ICD) and photocontrolled reversible room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) as output addresses respectively.

We prepared a poly[3]rotaxane consisting of a ''topologically linked polymer backbone'' in one pot from readily available, modular building blocks via a dynamic polymerization strategy based on reversible anthracene dimerization.