Main group supramolecular chemistry

Abstract

Metal directed self-assembly has yielded a wide array of two- and three-dimensional structures with fascinating new chemical properties. These structures have typically been prepared utilizing transition metals as directing units, owing to the well-defined coordination preferences these metals exhibit. An area of growing research interest involves the preparation of structures containing main group elements as directing units. This tutorial review surveys the wide range of structure types available through this approach, specifically covering unique structure types accessible from the unusual coordination geometries often exhibited by the elements in Groups 12–17 of the periodic table. This review should be of interest to supramolecular and main group chemists, and researchers in the fields of crystal engineering, host–guest chemistry, and molecular recognition.