Demonstration of High-Throughput Building Block and Composition Analysis of Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are composed of inorganic metal-containing nodes and organic linker groups and are promising porous materials for a wide range of applications. More than 90 000 different MOFs have been synthesized with different inorganic nodes, organic linkers, and node-linker connectivity patterns. While databases have been created to catalog this enormous number of structures, they generally do not provide functionality to easily search, sort, and understand MOFs based on composition and building blocks. Because structure-property relationships are critical to identify, here we outline our new program MOFseek and demonstrate that it can perform high-throughput structure and composition analyses of MOF structures. This program enables the fast analysis of tens of thousands of MOFs in databases based on the local chemical environment. We demonstrate the unique capabilities of MOFseek by analyzing the CoRE MOF database of structures.

An Allosterically Regulated, Four-State Macrocycle.

Macrocycles capable of host-guest chemistry are an important class of structures that have attracted considerable attention because of their utility in chemical separations, analyte sensing, signal amplification, and drug delivery. The deliberate design and synthesis of such structures are rate-limiting steps in utilizing them for such applications, and coordination-driven supramolecular chemistry has emerged as a promising tool for rapidly making large classes of such systems with attractive molecular recognition capabilities and, in certain cases, catalytic properties. A particularly promising subset of such systems are stimuli-responsive constructs made from hemilabile ligands via the weak-link approach (WLA) to supramolecular coordination chemistry. Such structures can be reversibly toggled between different shapes, sizes, and charges based upon small-molecule and elemental-anion chemical effectors. In doing so, one can deliberately change their recognition properties and both stoichiometric and catalytic chemistries, thereby providing mimics of allosteric enzymes. The vast majority of structures made to date involve two-state systems, with a select few being able to access three different states. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a new allosterically regulated four-state macrocycle assembled via the WLA. The target structure was made via the stepwise assembly of ditopic bidentate hemilabile N-heterocyclic carbene thioether (NHC,S) and phosphino thioether (P,S) ligands at PtII metal nodes. The relatively simple macrocycle displays complex dynamic behavior when addressed with small-molecule effectors, and structural switching can be achieved with several distinct molecular cues. Importantly, each state was fully characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and, in some cases, single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies and density functional theory computational models. This new structure opens the door to complex multicue switching reminiscent of multistate chemoswitches that could be important in controlling stoichiometric and catalytic transformations as well as generating molecular logic systems.

Palladium(II) Weak-Link Approach Complexes Bearing Hemilabile N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Thioether Ligands.

A new class of homoligated palladium(II) weak-link approach (WLA) complexes bearing hemilabile N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-thioether ligands is reported that, unlike previous tweezer-like WLA complexes, expand and contract in a linear fashion when switching between configurational states. These complexes can be chemically switched between a trans open state and a trans closed state via the addition or subsequent extraction of Cl-. These bis(NHC) complexes also display unusual isomerization behavior. For example, an NMR spectroscopic investigation into the solution-state configuration of the open complex reveals the presence of interconverting syn,trans and anti,trans isomers, and a kinetic study shows that the barrier is large enough to isolate, store, and study the anti,trans isomer at room temperature. Notably, the linker length between the NHC and thioether moieties can be tailored with additional -CH2- groups, which affords considerable control over the geometric changes imposed by switching. Therefore, this class of complexes may be useful in the construction of allosterically regulated supramolecular assemblies and materials.

Reversible and Selective Encapsulation of Dextromethorphan and ß-Estradiol Using an Asymmetric Molecular Capsule Assembled via the Weak-Link Approach.

An allosterically regulated, asymmetric receptor featuring a binding cavity large enough to accommodate three-dimensional pharmaceutical guest molecules as opposed to planar, rigid aromatics, was synthesized via the Weak-Link Approach. This architecture is capable of switching between an expanded, flexible "open" configuration and a collapsed, rigid "closed" one. The structure of the molecular receptor can be completely modulated in situ through the use of simple ionic effectors, which reversibly control the coordination state of the Pt(II) metal hinges to open and close the molecular receptor. The substantial change in binding cavity size and electrostatic charge between the two configurations is used to explore the capture and release of two guest molecules, dextromethorphan and ß-estradiol, which are widely found as pollutants in groundwater.

Cooperative Electronic and Structural Regulation in a Bioinspired Allosteric Photoredox Catalyst.

Herein, we report the first allosteric photoredox catalyst regulated via constructively coupled structural and electronic control. While often synergistically exploited in nature, these two types of control mechanisms have only been applied independently in the vast majority of allosteric enzyme mimics and receptors in the literature. By embedding a model of photosystem II in a supramolecular coordination complex that responds to chloride as an allosteric effector, we show that distance and electronic control of light harvesting can be married to maximize allosteric regulation of catalytic activity. This biomimetic system is composed of a Bodipy photoantenna, which is capable of transferring excited-state energy to a photoredox pair, wherein the excitation energy is used to generate a catalytically active charge-separated state. The structural aspect of allosteric regulation is achieved by toggling the coordination chemistry of an antenna-functionalized hemilabile ligand via partial displacement from a Rh(I) structual node using chloride. In doing so, the distance between the antenna and the central photoredox catalyst is increased, lowering the inherent efficiency of through-space energy transfer. At the same time, coordination of chloride lowers both the charge of the Rh(I) node and the reduction potential of the Rh(II/I) couple, to the extent that electronic quenching of the antenna excited state is possible via photoinduced electron transfer from the metal center. Compared to a previously developed system that operates solely via electronic regulation, the present system demonstrates that coupling electronic and structural approaches to allosteric regulation gives rise to improved switching ratios between catalytically active and inactive states. Contributions from both structural and electronic control mechanisms are probed via nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and transient absorption studies. Overall, this work establishes that intertwined electronic and structural regulatory mechanisms can be borrowed from nature to build stimuli-responsive inorganic materials with potential applications in sensing, catalysis, and photonic devices.

Giant conductivity switching of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerfaces governed by surface protonation.

Complex-oxide interfaces host a diversity of phenomena not present in traditional semiconductor heterostructures. Despite intense interest, many basic questions remain about the mechanisms that give rise to interfacial conductivity and the role of surface chemistry in dictating these properties. Here we demonstrate a fully reversible >4 order of magnitude conductance change at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) interfaces, regulated by LAO surface protonation. Nominally conductive interfaces are rendered insulating by solvent immersion, which deprotonates the hydroxylated LAO surface; interface conductivity is restored by exposure to light, which induces reprotonation via photocatalytic oxidation of adsorbed water. The proposed mechanisms are supported by a coordinated series of electrical measurements, optical/solvent exposures, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This intimate connection between LAO surface chemistry and LAO/STO interface physics bears far-reaching implications for reconfigurable oxide nanoelectronics and raises the possibility of novel applications in which electronic properties of these materials can be locally tuned using synthetic chemistry.

A concerted two-prong approach to the in situ allosteric regulation of bifunctional catalysis.

Herein, we report the reversible in situ "on-off" allosteric regulation of hydrogen-bond-donating (HBD)-Lewis base co-catalytic activity via a concerted two-prong methodology entailing cooperative acid-base chemistry and a structurally addressable coordination complex. Specifically, a heteroligated Pt(ii) weak-link approach (WLA) tweezer complex containing both a hemilabile squaramide-piperidine-based catalytic ligand and a sodium sulfonate hydrogen-bond-accepting (HBA) ligand was synthesized. Due to the hemilabile nature of the catalyst-containing ligand, the heteroligated complex can be reversibly toggled in situ between a flexible, semi-open state and a rigid, fully closed state upon the addition of elemental ion cues. 1H NMR spectroscopy titration studies show that in the semi-open state interligand hydrogen-bonding prevents substrate recognition by the squaramide unit, while in the fully closed state ligand-ligand interactions are prevented. This results in a catalytically active closed state, whereas in the semi-open state, when the piperidine tertiary amine is deliberately protonated, no catalytic activity is observed. Reversible interconversion between the active fully closed state and the dormant protonated semi-open state is achieved in the presence of substrate upon the concerted addition and abstraction of both a proton and a coordinating elemental anion. In this work, allosteric regulation of catalytic activity is demonstrated for both the Michael addition of nitroethane to ß-nitrostyrene and the ring-opening of l-(-)-lactide. Taken together, this work details a potentially generalizable platform for the "on-off" allosteric regulation of a family of HBD-Lewis base co-catalysts capable of catalyzing a broad scope of reactions, including the living ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters.

An allosteric photoredox catalyst inspired by photosynthetic machinery.

Biological photosynthetic machinery allosterically regulate light harvesting via conformational and electronic changes at the antenna protein complexes as a response to specific chemical inputs. Fundamental limitations in current approaches to regulating inorganic light-harvesting mimics prevent their use in catalysis. Here we show that a light-harvesting antenna/reaction centre mimic can be regulated by utilizing a coordination framework incorporating antenna hemilabile ligands and assembled via a high-yielding, modular approach. As in nature, allosteric regulation is afforded by coupling the conformational changes to the disruptions in the electrochemical landscape of the framework upon recognition of specific coordinating analytes. The hemilabile ligands enable switching using remarkably mild and redox-inactive inputs, allowing one to regulate the photoredox catalytic activity of the photosynthetic mimic reversibly and in situ. Thus, we demonstrate that bioinspired regulatory mechanisms can be applied to inorganic light-harvesting arrays displaying switchable catalytic properties and with potential uses in solar energy conversion and photonic devices.

Allosteric regulation of supramolecular oligomerization and catalytic activity via coordination-based control of competitive hydrogen-bonding events.

Herein, we demonstrate that the activity of a hydrogen-bond-donating (HBD) catalyst embedded within a coordination framework can be allosterically regulated in situ by controlling oligomerization via simple changes in coordination chemistry at distal Pt(II) nodes. Using the halide-induced ligand rearrangement reaction (HILR), a heteroligated Pt(II) triple-decker complex, which contains a catalytically active diphenylene squaramide moiety and two hydrogen-bond-accepting (HBA) ester moieties, was synthesized. The HBD and HBA moieties were functionalized with hemilabile ligands of differing chelating strengths, allowing one to assemble them around Pt(II) nodes in a heteroligated fashion. Due to the hemilabile nature of the ligands, the resulting complex can be interconverted between a flexible, semiopen state and a rigid, fully closed state in situ and reversibly. FT-IR spectroscopy, (1)H DOSY, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy titration studies were used to demonstrate that, in the semiopen state, intermolecular hydrogen-bonding between the HBD and HBA moieties drives oligomerization of the complex and prevents substrate recognition by the catalyst. In the rigid, fully closed state, these interactions are prevented by steric and geometric constraints. Thus, the diphenylene squaramide moiety is able to catalyze a Friedel-Crafts reaction in the fully closed state, while the semiopen state shows no reactivity. This work demonstrates that controlling catalytic activity by regulating aggregation through supramolecular conformational changes, a common approach in Nature, can be applied to man-made catalytic frameworks that are relevant to materials synthesis, as well as the detection and amplification of small molecules.

A multi-state, allosterically-regulated molecular receptor with switchable selectivity.

A biomimetic, ion-regulated molecular receptor was synthesized via the Weak-Link Approach (WLA). This structure features both a calix[4]arene moiety which serves as a molecular recognition unit and an activity regulator composed of hemilabile phosphine alkyl thioether ligands (P,S) chelated to a Pt(II) center. The host-guest properties of the ion-regulated receptor were found to be highly dependent upon the coordination of the Pt(II) center, which is controlled through the reversible coordination of small molecule effectors. The environment at the regulatory site dictates the charge and the structural conformation of the entire assembly resulting in three accessible binding configurations: one closed, inactive state and two open, active states. One of the active states, the semiopen state, recognizes a neutral guest molecule, while the other, the fully open state, recognizes a cationic guest molecule. Job plots and (1)H NMR spectroscopy titrations were used to study the formation of these inclusion complexes, the receptor binding modes, and the receptor binding affinities (Ka) in solution. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies provided insight into the solid-state structures of the receptor when complexed with each guest molecule. The dipole moments and electrostatic potential maps of the structures were generated via DFT calculations at the B97D/LANL2DZ level of theory. Finally, we describe the reversible capture and release of guests by switching the receptor between the closed and semiopen configurations via elemental anion and small molecule effectors.

Modulation of electronics and thermal stabilities of photochromic phosphino-aminoazobenzene derivatives in weak-link approach coordination complexes.

A series of d(8) transition-metal (Pt(II) and Pd(II)) coordination complexes incorporating phosphine-functionalized aminoazobenzene derivatives as hemilabile phosphino-amine (P,N) ligands were synthesized and studied as model weak-link approach (WLA) photoresponsive constructs. The optical and photochemical properties of these complexes were found to be highly influenced by various tunable parameters in WLA systems, which include type of metal, coordination mode, type of ancillary ligand, solvent, and outer-sphere counteranions. In dichloromethane, reversible chelation and partial displacement of the P,N coordinating moieties allow for toggling between aminoazobenzene- or pseudostilbene- and azobenzene-type derivatives. The reversible switching between electronic states of azobenzene can be controlled through either addition or extraction of chloride counterions and is readily visualized in the separation between π-π* and n-π* bands in the complexes' electronic spectra. In acetonitrile solution, the WLA variables inherent to semiopen complexes have a significant impact on the half-lives of the corresponding cis isomers, allowing one to tune their half-lives from 20 to 21000 s, while maintaining photoisomerization behaviors with visible light. Therefore, one can significantly increase the thermal stability of a cis-aminoazobenzene derivative to the extent that single crystals for X-ray diffraction analysis can be grown for the first time, uncovering an unprecedented edge-to-face arrangement of the phenyl rings in the cis isomer. Overall, the azobenzene-functionalized model complexes shed light on the design parameters relevant for photocontrolled WLA molecular switches, as well as offer new ways of tuning the properties of azobenzene-based, photoresponsive materials.

Boron-dipyrromethene-functionalized hemilabile ligands as "turn-on" fluorescent probes for coordination changes in weak-link approach complexes.

Herein we report a new class of hemilabile ligands with boron-dipyrromethene (Bodipy) fluorophores that, when complexed to Pt(II), can signal changes in coordination mode through changes in their fluorescence. The ligands consist of phosphino-amine or phosphino-thioether coordinating moieties linked to the Bodipy's meso carbon via a phenylene spacer. Interestingly, this new class of ligands can be used to signal both ligand displacement and chelation reactions in a fluorescence "turn-on" fashion through the choice of weakly binding heteroatom in the hemilabile moiety, generating up to 10-fold fluorescence intensity increases. The Pt(II) center influences the Bodipy emission efficiency by regulating photoinduced electron transfer between the fluorophore and its meso substituent. The rates at which the excited Bodipy-species generate singlet oxygen upon excitation suggest that the heavy Pt(II) center also influences Bodipy's emission efficiency by affecting intersystem crossing from the Bodipy excited singlet to excited triplet states. This signaling strategy provides a quantitative read-out for changes in coordination mode and potentially will enable the design of new molecular systems for sensing and signal amplification.

Locally altering the electronic properties of graphene by nanoscopically doping it with Rhodamine 6G.

We show that Rhodamine 6G (R6G), patterned by dip-pen nanolithography on graphene, can be used to locally n-dope it in a controlled fashion. In addition, we study the transport and assembly properties of R6G on graphene and show that in general the π-π stacking between the aromatic components of R6G and the underlying graphene drives the assembly of these molecules onto the underlying substrate. However, two distinct transport and assembly behaviors, dependent upon the presence or absence of R6G dimers, have been identified. In particular, at high concentrations of R6G on the tip, dimers are transferred to the substrate and form contiguous and stable lines, while at low concentrations, the R6G is transferred as monomers and forms patchy, unstable, and relatively ill-defined features. Finally, Kelvin probe force microscopy experiments show that the local electrostatic potential of the graphene changes as function of modification with R6G; this behavior is consistent with local molecular doping, highlighting a path for controlling the electronic properties of graphene with nanoscale resolution.