Synthesis of Crystalline Molecular Gyrotops and Phenylene Rotation inside the Cage

Phenylene-bridged
macrocage molecules were synthesized as molecular
gyrotops because the rotor can rotate even in a crystal. The chain-length-dependent
properties of the molecular gyrotops were investigated in order to
explore the potential to create new molecular materials. The formation
of the cage in the synthesis of each molecular gyrotop depended on
the length of the alkyl chains of the precursor. The rotation modes
and energy barriers for phenylene rotation inside the crystals of
the molecular gyrotops were changed by varying the chain length of
the cage.