An Iodine-Vapor-Induced Cyclization in a Crystalline Molecular Flask.

A vapor-induced cyclization has been observed in the host environment of a crystalline molecular flask (CMF), within which 1,8-bis(2-phenylethynyl)naphthalene (bpen), a diarenynyl system primed for cyclization, was exposed to iodine vapor to yield the corresponding indeno[2,1-α]phenalene species. The cyclization process, unique in its vapor-induced, solvent-free nature, was followed spectroscopically, and found to occur concurrently with the displacement of lattice solvent for molecular iodine in CMF⋅0.75 bpen⋅2.

A facile single crystal to single crystal transition with significant structural contraction on desolvation.

5-Ethynyl-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2ebdc) reacted with lead(II) acetate trihydrate yields a 1D ladder network, [Pb(ebdc)(MeOH)]2·H2O (1). Removing crystals of 1 from the mother liquor results in a facile single crystal to single crystal transition, yielding 2D [Pb(ebdc)] net (2) with a change in space group from I2/a to P1̄.