Thec atalytic nature of self-assembled metal-organic polyhedra gives an entirely new dimension to the reactivity andproperties of molecules within aw ell-defined confined space. Encapsulation of ar ange of guests brings about not only host-guest interactions but also gives riset ou nusual reactivities with selectivity ands tabilizationo fv arious reactive intermediates.T his review briefly covers the synthesis of self-assembled metal-organic polyhedra and elaborates theiri nfluence in different chemical reactions as well as in the stabilization of unstablechemical species.
1I ntroduction 2S elf-Assembled Metal-Organic Polyhedra 3C atalysis 4S tabilization of Reactive Species 5C onclusions and PerspectiveKeywords: catalysts;h ost-guest systems;m etal-organic polyhedra;n on-covalent interactions;s elf-assembly 1I ntroduction "Chemistry without catalysis would be asword without ah andle,alight without brilliance,abell without sound."
Alwin MittaschSelf-assembly is defined by George Whitesides as "a process where predesigned components assembled in ad etermined structure without the intervention of human operators". [1] It is an effectivetooltoc onstruct various supramoleculesh aving different shapesa nd functionalitiesd irectly from the precursor units.T he recognition of non-covalent interactions such as ionion, ion-dipole, p-p stacking, hydrogenb onding, etc. can be correlated to the invention of "crown ethers", "cryptands" and" spherands" by Pedersen, [2] Lehn, [3] and Cram, [4] respectively.M etal-organic polyhedra, zero-dimensional discrete structures usuallyp repared by the self-assembly of metal ions andh ighly directional m-BDC or bispyridine or exo-/endo-functionalized ligands possessings uitable symmetrical axesa nd point groups.T hese discrete structures can be categorized as platonic, archimedean, faceted and stellated possessing an internal cavity for the encapsulation of various species,m oreover, the nature and volume of the cavity are two of the importantp arameters for altering the chemical reactivity andd ynamics of substrates. [5] Thec atalytic nature of the polyhedra can be correlated to enzyme catalysis, [6] where preorganization and non-covalent interactions are of the utmost importance.T hese non-covalent interactions between the host and guest provide an extra stability to the intermediates and decide the fate of ar eaction.Additionally,t he cavity also serves as an acceptable destination for range of unstable species including greenhouse gases, whitep hosphorus,o rganometallic reagents.T his meddling of polyhedra is basicallyd ue to its structural constraints and chemical/thermal stability in acidic, basic or various solvents.I nt his brief review,w ew illd iscuss the synthesis of few important polyhedra and highlight theird irect or indirecti nfluence on substrate reactivity and in stabilizing reactive species.