Self-Assembly of Nanometer-Sized Boroxine Cages from Diboronic Acids

Abstract

By use of the reversible trimerization of boronic acids, the series of boroxine cages <b>3-mer</b>, <b>6-mer</b>, and <b>12-mer</b> were constructed from rationally designed diboronic acids whose bond angles between two C–B bonds are 60°, 84°, and 117°, respectively. Boroxine cages <b>6-mer</b> and <b>12-mer</b> have 1.5 and 2.5 nm sized cavities, respectively