DABCO-Induced Self-Assembly of a Trisporphyrin Double-Decker Cage: Thermodynamic Characterization and Guest Recognition

This paper describes the thermodynamic characterization of the self-assembly of a Zn trisporphyrin induced by coordination with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) to form a stable 2:3 double-decker molecular coordination cage that recognizes benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamides. The self-assembly process has been studied using UV-vis and ¹H NMR spectroscopy and quantitatively characterized in terms of a single stability constant that describes the strength of the individual coordination interactions and two effective molarities (EM) that describe the additional stability imparted by intramolecular cyclization. The EM values of the two consecutive cyclic intramolecular interactions are very similar. At micromolar concentrations, the formation of the fully assembled coordination cage is highly favored over the formation of intermediate species stabilized by fewer interactions, and so self-assembly is an all-or-nothing process. In contrast, at millimolar concentrations, the relative stability of intermediate species increases, leading to a stepwise self-assembly process, and a 2:2 intermediate can be clearly identified using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The molecular recognition of benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamides by the cage was investigated using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The tricarboxamides bind inside the central cavity of the cage complex, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) allowed the quantification of the stoichiometry and binding affinities.