Metallosupramolecular cages: from design principles and characterisation techniques to applications

Although metallosupramolecular cages are self-assembled from seemingly simple building blocks, metal ions and organic ligands, architectures of increasingly large size and complexity are accessible and exploited in applications from catalysis to the stabilisation of reactive species. This Tutorial Review gives an introduction to the principles for designing metallosupramolecular cages and highlights advances in the design of large and lower symmetry cages. The characterisation and identification of cages relies on a number of complementary techniques with NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography and computational methods being the focus of this review. Finally, examples of cages are discussed where these design principles and characterisation techniques are put into practice for an application or function of the cage.

Automated summary

This tutorial review introduces the principles for designing metallosupramolecular cages, with a focus on the design of large and lower symmetry cages. The characterization and identification of cages rely on complementary techniques such as NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, and computational methods. Finally, examples of cages are discussed where these design principles and characterization techniques are applied for specific applications or functions of the cages.