Complementarity and Preorganisation in the Assembly of Heterometallic–Organic Cages via the Metalloligand Approach—Recent Advances

Abstract

The design of new metallocage polyhedra towards pre-determined structures can offer both practical as well as intellectual challenges. In this mini-review we discuss a selection of recent examples in which the use of the metalloligand approach has been employed to overcome such challenges. An attractive feature of this approach is its stepwise nature that lends itself to the design and rational synthesis of heterometallic metal–organic cages, with the latter often associated with enhanced functionality.

Keywords

• metalloligand
• metal–organic cage
• metallocage
• heterometal
• template