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Controlling catalyst activity, chemoselectivity and stereoselectivity with the mechanical bond

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 6, pages 182–196 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Mechanically interlocked molecules, such as rotaxanes and catenanes, are receiving increased attention as scaffolds for the development of new catalysts, driven by both their increasing accessibility and high-profile examples of the mechanical bond delivering desirable behaviours and properties. In this Review, we survey recent advances in the catalytic applications of mechanically interlocked molecules organized by the effect of the mechanical bond on key catalytic properties, namely, activity, chemoselectivity and stereoselectivity, and focus on how the mechanically bonded structure leads to the observed behaviour. Our aim is to inspire future investigations of mechanically interlocked catalysts, including those outside of the supramolecular community.

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Fig. 1: Timeline of selected events in the development of MIMs for catalysis.
Fig. 2: Enhanced catalytic activity due to the mechanical bond.
Fig. 3: The mechanical bond and stimuli-regulated catalysis.
Fig. 4: Chemoselectivity and the mechanical bond.
Fig. 5: Enhancing stereoselectivity through the sterically crowded environment of the mechanical bond.
Fig. 6: Enhancing stereoselectivity with multifunctional interlocked scaffolds.
Fig. 7: Catalysts with chiral reaction environments created by the mechanical bond.
Fig. 8: Examples of catalysis and molecular motion.

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Change history

  • 28 January 2022

    Some bonds shown in a structure in figure 7c were misaligned. This has now been corrected in all versions of the article.

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Acknowledgements

A.W.H. thanks the University of Southampton for a Presidential Scholarship. J.M.S. thanks the Royal Society for a Newton International Fellowship. S.M.G. thanks the European Research Council (Consolidator Grant agreement 724987) for funding. S.M.G. is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellow.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Andrew W. Heard, Jorge Meijide Suárez.

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    Andrew W. Heard, Jorge Meijide Suárez & Stephen M. Goldup

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Heard, A.W., Suárez, J.M. & Goldup, S.M. Controlling catalyst activity, chemoselectivity and stereoselectivity with the mechanical bond. Nat Rev Chem 6, 182–196 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00348-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00348-4

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