“Eggs in egg cartons”: co-crystallization to embed molecular cages into crystalline lattices

Abstract

Discrete (M₃L₂)_n cages assembled from a tripodal ligand (L) and metal ions (M: Cu(I) or Ag(I)) are embedded in networked coordination hosts formed by partial dissociation of the same discrete cages during the crystallization process. The resulting “eggs-in-an-egg-carton” structures provide unique examples of the co-crystallization of discrete and infinite coordination frameworks.