女生小视频

Molecule magic: Trapped in an Archimedean cage

A molecule-sized version of one of the 13 Archimedean solids has formed a cage for a metal complex never seen before
One of only 13 Archimedean solids, the truncated octahedron
One of only 13 Archimedean solids, the truncated octahedron
(Image: Scott Camazine/Alamy)

As well as super-shrinking everyday gadgets such as motors, molecules have also been massaged into shapes that are more mathematical than practical.

of New York University and colleagues mastered a molecule-sized version of one of the 13 鈥淎rchimedean solids鈥� 鈥� a family of symmetrical three-dimensional polyhedra attributed to the Greek mathematician.

The solid, a truncated octahedron, was built with tiny molecular tiles. One type of tile, ringed with chemical groups called guanidiniums, joined with another type ringed with sulphonates to form the shape through a connection of 72 hydrogen bonds.

The result is a hollow cage. By adding reactants to the tile mixture while cages were forming, the team also created inside them three metal 鈥渃omplexes鈥� containing bismuth, lead and mercury that had never been seen before. The cage easily dissolves to release the new complexes.

Journal reference:

Story 4 of 6

Next: 鈥�Fractal fantastic鈥�

Previous: 鈥�Electrons line up for magnetic memory鈥�

See all Molecule magic articles