Compressed Corannulene in a Molecular Cage

Self-assembled coordination cages can be employed as a molecular press, where the bowl-shaped guest corannulene (C20H10) is significantly flattened upon inclusion within the hydrophobic cavity. This is demonstrated by the pairwise inclusion of corannulene with naphthalene diimide as well as by the dimer inclusion of bromocorannulene inside the boxlike host. The compressed corannulene structures are unambiguously revealed by single-crystal X-ray analysis.