A Cobalt Supramolecular Triple-Stranded Helicate-based Discrete Molecular Cage

We report a strategy to achieve a discrete cage molecule featuring a high level of structural hierarchy through a multiple-assembly process. A cobalt (Co) supramolecular triple-stranded helicate (Co-TSH)-based discrete molecular cage (1) is successfully synthesized and fully characterized. The solid-state structure of 1 shows that it is composed of six triple-stranded helicates interconnected by four linking cobalt species. This is an unusual example of a highly symmetric cage architecture resulting from the coordination-driven assembly of metallosupramolecular modules. The molecular cage 1 shows much higher CO(2) uptake properties and selectivity compared with the separate supramolecular modules (Co-TSH, complex 2) and other molecular platforms.