Issue 12, 2017

Supramolecular catalyst functions in catalytic amount: cucurbit[8]uril accelerates the photodimerization of Brooker’s merocyanine

Abstract

Supramolecular catalysis aims to modulate chemical reactions on both selectivity and rate by taking advantage of supramolecular chemistry. However, due to the effect of product inhibition, supramolecular catalysts are usually added in stoichiometric amounts. Herein, we report a supramolecular catalysis system in which 1% of the supramolecular catalyst, cucurbit[8]uril, is able to significantly accelerate the photodimerization of Brooker’s merocyanine. This catalytic process is realized in a cyclic manner because the photodimerized product can be spontaneously replaced by monomeric reactants via competitive host–guest complexation. Thus, a catalytic amount of cucurbit[8]uril is sufficient to accomplish photodimerization within 10 min. This line of research will enrich the field of supramolecular catalysis and allow the development of more efficient catalytic systems.

Graphical abstract: Supramolecular catalyst functions in catalytic amount: cucurbit[8]uril accelerates the photodimerization of Brooker’s merocyanine

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
20 Sept. 2017
Accepted
12 Okt. 2017
First published
13 Okt. 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2017,8, 8357-8361

Supramolecular catalyst functions in catalytic amount: cucurbit[8]uril accelerates the photodimerization of Brooker’s merocyanine

Y. Kang, X. Tang, H. Yu, Z. Cai, Z. Huang, D. Wang, J. Xu and X. Zhang, Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 8357 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC04125J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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