Preparation of a chiral Pt12 tetrahedral cage and its use in catalytic Michael addition reaction

Abstract

The reaction of chiral cis-[(1S,2S)-dch]Pt(NO₃)₂ (M) [where (1S,2S)-dch = (1S,2S)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane] with a hexadentate ligand (L) in 3 : 1 stoichiometric ratio yielded a [12+4] self-assembled chiral M₁₂L₄ molecular tetrahedron (T). The cage T features an internal 3D nanocavity with large open ‘windows’, enabling it to catalyze Michael addition reactions of a series of nitrostyrene derivatives with indole in a 9 : 1 water : methanol mixture.