Molecules of the year

Abstract

Longest, most twisted perphenylacene synthesized Researchers at Tulane University synthesized dodecaphenyltetracene—four fused benzene rings surrounded by 12 pendant phenyl rings—in three steps (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201812418). The molecule is of interest for organic electronics and photovoltaics. Methane was caged inside C60 This year, researchers trapped methane inside C60 (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201900983). Methane is the first organic molecule and the largest of any kind to be trapped this way. The University of Southampton researchers made a fullerene cage with a sulfur-containing 17-membered ring, forced methane inside at high pressure, and closed the cage by oxidizing the sulfur and ejecting sulfur monoxide. Cryptand cage had record-breaking affinity for chloride This molecule captured and bound chloride ions using only C–H bonds, which are typically considered weak hydrogen-bond donors (Science 2019, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw5145). The cage’s affinity for chloride is so high that the Indiana University Bloomington team