Functional Capsules via Subcomponent Self-Assembly

ConspectusCoordination-driven self-assembly can produce large, symmetrical, hollow cages that are synthetically easy to access. The functions provided by these aesthetically attractive structures provide a driving force for their development, enabling practical applications. For instance, cages have provided new methods of molecular recognition, chirality sensing, separations, stabilization of reactive species, and catalysis.We have fruitfully employed subcomponent self-assembly to prepare metal–organic capsules from simple building blocks via the simultaneous formation of dynamic coordinative (N→metal) and covalent (N═C) bonds. Design strategies employ multidentate pyridyl–imine ligands to define either the edges or the faces of polyhedral structures. Octahedral metal ions, such as FeII, CoII, NiII, ZnII, and CdII, constitute the vertices. The generality of this technique has enabled the preparation of capsules with diverse three-dimensional structures. This Account highlights how fundamental investigati...