Active Template Strategy for the Preparation of Interlocked Nanocarbons

Mechanically interlocked carbon nanostructures represent a relatively unexplored frontier in carbon nanoscience due to the difficulty in preparing these unusual topological materials. Here we illustrate an active template method in which the key mechanical bond forming step is accomplished by leveraging unique ligand motifs to catalyze a cross-coupling reaction within the pore of a macrocycle. Once the mechanical bond has been formed, these macrocyclic ligands can then be converted into pi-conjugated structures in a subsequent synthetic step. This method provides a general strategy by which a variety of mechanically interlocked carbon nanostructures can be prepared which will enable structure-property relationships to be established for this emerging class of nanomaterials.