Reactions inside a porous nanocapsule/artificial cell: encapsulates' structuring directed by internal surface deprotonations

Abstract

In the cavities of unprecedentedly functionalised, spherical, porous capsules of the type {Pentagon}₁₂{Linker}₃₀ ≡ [{(Mo)Mo₅O₂₁(H₂O)₆}₁₂{Mo₂O₄(ligand)}₃₀]ⁿ⁻ reactions with the ligands – i.e. at the internal shell surfaces – can be performed, in the present case deliberate aquation/hydration and deprotonation reactions at the linker fragments {(Mo₂O₄)C₂O₄H}⁺ similar to that reported in the literature for [(NH₃)₅CoC₂O₄H]²⁺ in solution.