Active‐Metal Template Synthesis of a Molecular Trefoil Knot

Abstract

Tying the knot: The marriage of catalysis and coordination chemistry enables two CuI ions (red; see picture) to work in partnership for the synthesis of a molecular trefoil knot. One ion entangles an acyclic building block to create a loop in the ligand, and the other gathers the ligand's reactive end-groups, threads the loop, and catalyzes the covalent capture of the knotted architecture by an alkyne–azide “click” reaction. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.