Abstract
The design of new chiral materials usually requires stereoselective organic synthesis to create molecules with chiral centers. Less commonly, achiral molecules can self-assemble into chiral materials, despite the absence of intrinsic molecular chirality. Here, we demonstrate the assembly of high-symmetry molecules into a chiral van der Waals structure by synthesizing crystals of C60(SnI4)2 from icosahedral buckminsterfullerene (C60) and tetrahedral SnI4 molecules through spontaneous self-assembly. The SnI4 tetrahedra template the Sn atoms into a chiral cubic three-connected net of the SrSi2 type. Our results represent the remarkable emergence of a self-assembled chiral material from two of the most highly symmetric molecules, demonstrating that almost any molecular, nanocrystalline, or engineered precursor can be considered when designing chiral assemblies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 13155-13161 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
Volume | 142 |
Issue number | 30 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 29 2020 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Catalysis
- Chemistry(all)
- Biochemistry
- Colloid and Surface Chemistry