Metal-organic supercontainers (MOSCs), a new family of synthetic receptors constructed from divalent metal ions, sulfonylcalixarenes, and carboxylate linkers, have several functions including but not limited to selective gas adsorption and storage, transportation of small molecules (e.g. drugs), encapsulation of unstable species, and promotion of chemical transformation. Rhodamine B, an organic dye molecule that has found many chemical and biological applications, is capable of undergoing open/closed form isomerization. The relatively high stability of the closed, colorless form, Rhodamine B base, in nonpolar solvents allows for the molecule to be studied and to observe whether or not its transformation to the open, colored form can be promoted by the MOSCs through host-guest binding. We have used a range of techniques, including UV-Vis titration, fluorescent titration, and NMR titration, to probe the isomerization of Rhodamine B in the presence of MOSCs. Our finding suggests that the well-defined nanocavities of MOSCs can indeed facilitate the isomerization of Rhodamine B from the closed form to the open form in chloroform and that the MOSC structural types directly impact the isomerization process. Modulating chemical transformations via synthetic containers such as MOSCs provides promising opportunities in a range of areas such as biomedical sensing.

Modulating rhodamine B isomerization in metal-organic supercontainers

249th National Meeting (2015)

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