Laura Pirondini

Molecular recognition at the gas-solid interface: a powerful tool for chemical sensing.

This tutorial review deals with the design of molecular receptors capable of molecular recognition at the gas-solid interface, to be used as selective layers in gas sensors. The key issue of specific versus nonspecific binding in the solid layer is discussed in terms of cavity inclusion and layer morphology. The combined use of mass spectrometry and crystal structure analysis provide accurate information on type, number, geometry and strength of receptor-analyte interactions in the gas phase and in the solid state. From these data, the gas sensing properties of a given receptor toward a single class of analytes can be anticipated.

Supramolecular Sensing with Phosphonate Cavitands

Phosphonate cavitands are an emerging class of synthetic receptors for supramolecular sensing. The molecular recognition properties of the third-generation tetraphosphonate cavitands toward alcohols and water at the gas-solid interface have been evaluated by means of three complementary techniques and compared to those of the parent mono- and diphosphonate cavitands. The combined use of ESI-MS and X-ray crystallography defined precisely the host-guest association at the interface in terms of type, number, strength, and geometry of interactions. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements then validated the predictive value of such information for sensing applications. The importance of energetically equivalent multiple interactions on sensor selectivity and sensitivity has been demonstrated by comparing the molecular recognition properties of tetraphosphonate cavitands with those of their mono- and diphosphonate counterparts.

Design and self-assembly of wide and robust coordination cages

The self-assembly of a new class of coordination cages formed from two tetrapyridyl-substituted cavitands connected through four square-planar palladium or platinum complexes is reported. The shape of the internal cavity resembles an ellipsoid with a calculated volume of 840 Å3. The four lateral portals have a diameter of about 6 Å, large enough to allow the fast entrance/egress of counterions in solution. The platinum cages 3a,e cannot be disassembled using triethylamine as competitive ligand and they are kinetically stable at room temperature, whereas the palladium cages 3b-d, 3f-h are disassembled and kinetically labile under the same conditions. The different solubility properties of the cage components have allowed the extension of this self-assembly protocol to the liquid–liquid interface.

Host–Guest‐Driven Copolymerization of Tetraphosphonate Cavitands

The outstanding complexing properties of tetraphosphonate cavitands towards N-methylpyridinium salts were exploited to realise a new class of linear and cyclic AABB supramolecular polymers through host-guest interactions. The effectiveness of the selected self-association processes was tested by (1)H NMR studies, whereas microcalorimetric analyses clarified the binding thermodynamics and revealed the possibility of tuning entropic contributions by acting on the flexibility of the guest linker. Although the formation of linear polymeric chains for a rigid system was demonstrated by X-ray analysis, the presence of a concentration-dependent ring-chain equilibrium was indicated by solution viscosity measurements in the case of a very flexible ditopic BB guest co-monomer.

New Tetrafunctionalized Cone Calix[4]arenes as Neutral Hosts for Anion Recognition

Abstract The synthesis and anion binding properties of several new cone calix[4]arenes having different flexibility and tetrafunctionalized at the upper rim with various type of hydrogen bonding donor groups such as thioureas (1–3), trifluoroacetamides (4, 5) and perfluorinated alcohols (6) are reported. The results obtained show that thiourea receptors are the most effective in the complexation of all anions and that the rigid cone compound 2 is more efficient than the mobile cone analog 1 in the binding of spherical anions, whereas the reverse is true for the complexation of tetrahedral H2PO4 − anion.

Electrochemically Controlled Formation/Dissociation of Phosphonate‐Cavitand/Methylpyridinium Complexes

The phosphorus-bridged cavitand 1 self-assembles very efficiently in CH2Cl2 with either the monopyridinium guest 2+ or the bispyridinium guest 3(2+). In the first case a 1:1 complex is obtained, whereas in the second case both 1:1 and 2:1 host-guest complexes are observed. The association between 1 and either one of the guests causes the quenching of the cavitand fluorescence; in the case of the adduct between 1 and 3(2+), the fluorescence of the latter is also quenched. Cavitand complexation is found to affect the reduction potential values of the electroactive guests. Voltammetric and spectroelectrochemical measurements show that upon one-electron reduction both guests are released from the cavity of 1. Owing to the chemical reversibility of such redox processes, the supramolecular complexes can be re-assembled upon removal of the extra electron from the guest. Systems of this kind are promising for the construction of switchable nanoscale devices and self-assembling supramolecular materials, the structure and properties of which can be reversibly controlled by electrochemical stimuli.

Calix[4]arene Anion Receptors Bearing 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol Groups at The Upper Rim

Several di- and tetrafunctionalized anion receptors have been synthesized by attaching 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol binding groups at the upper rim of cone calix[4]arenes using two different synthetic procedures. The best results were obtained by treating calix[4]arene formyl derivatives with trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane and tetrabutylammonium fluoride in dry THF. The bis- trifluoroethanol calix[4]arene receptors are able to bind anions showing selectivity for carboxylates and dihydrogenphosphate but at a lower efficiency compared to analogous receptors bearing urea, sulfonamide or activated amide binding groups. The conformational properties of the free ligands and their acetate complexes have been investigated by Dynamic 1H NMR, Molecular Modeling and in one case, by X-ray crystallography. Calix[4]arenes bearing cation coordinating groups at the lower rim and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol moieties at the upper rim behave as ditopic receptors, since they bind simultaneously cation and anion and extracts ion pairs in organic media. In one case evidence was obtained that coordination of sodium metal ion at the lower rim enhances the binding of acetate anion at the upper rim (positive allosteric effect).

Introduction of Water-Solubilizing Groups at the Lower Rim of Tolylpyridine-Bridged Cavitands

In this paper the preparation of water-soluble methylene-bridged cavitands presenting either positively or negatively charged groups at the lower rim following three different synthetic routes is reported. Moreover, four anionic sulphate functions have been successfully inserted on a tolylpyridine-bridged cavitand in order to carry out the self-assembly of coordination cages in water.