Tuning the chaotropic effect as an assembly motif through one-electron transfer in a rhenium cluster

Abstract

We report how only one electron transfer from the hydrophilic reduced cluster [{Re₆Se₈}(CN)₆]⁴⁻ induces both a dramatic increase of the host–guest affinity with γ-cyclodextrin and a drastic alteration of the supramolecular dynamics. This striking behaviour, underlined by its thermochemical fingerprint, indicates that the self-assembly process is driven by a chaotropic effect.