Dynamic selection in metallo-organic cube Cd L conformations induced by perfluorooctanoate encapsulation.

Metallo-organic cages possess flexibility comparable to that of biological receptors and can alter their conformations to better accommodate guest species due to the dynamic reversibility of the coordination bond. Induced fit is widely accepted involving conformation change of the host, while few definitive examples are related to conformation selection. Herein, we report the generation of metallo-organic cube Cd L with two coexisting conformations, which have been fully confirmed by NMR, ESI-MS and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.