Citation: Zhilong Jiang, Qiaolin Chen, Min Wang, Fengxue Liu, Xiaojie Huang, Bangtang Chen, Qiangqiang Dong, Mingzhao Chen, Yifan Lin, Pingshan Wang, Jun Wang. 3D fractal expanding of a Sierpiński triangular-faced supramolecular cage for enhanced photocatalytic performance[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(1): 111168. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111168 shu

3D fractal expanding of a Sierpiński triangular-faced supramolecular cage for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Zhilong Jiang ^{a, 1} ,
Qiaolin Chen ^{a, 1} ,
Min Wang ^a ,
Fengxue Liu ^b ,
Xiaojie Huang ^a ,
Bangtang Chen ^a ,
Qiangqiang Dong ^b ,
Mingzhao Chen ^a ,
Yifan Lin ^{c, *,} ,
Pingshan Wang ^{a, b, **,} ,
Jun Wang ^{a, *,}

a.
Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay Area, Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
b.
Hunan Key Laboratory of Micro & Nano Materials Interface Science, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
c.
College of Light Chemical Industry and Materials Engineering, Shunde Polytechnic, Foshan 528300, China

^**

24011@sdpt.edu.cn

chemwps@csu.edu.cn

wangjun@gzhu.edu.cn

Received Date: 15 January 2025
Revised Date: 23 March 2025
Accepted Date: 1 April 2025
Available Online: 1 April 2025

Figures(7)

Fractal assembly in discrete structures, especially for artificial supramolecular species, has attracted significantly increased interest over the past two decades. In this study, we present the precisely controlled fractal expanding synthesis of a novel triangular prism supramolecule featuring Sierpiński triangular face, which was achieved through a module-intervened self-expansion strategy. The homoleptic S1 was firstly synthesized through the assembly of ligand L1 with Zn²⁺ ions. Based on the triangular-faced prism S1, we further introduced Sierpiński triangular faces on the section of the heteroleptic supramolecular cage S2 with an expanded inner cavity and more abundant active sites for photocatalytic properties. The topotactic architectures for both S1 and S2 were fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the fractal expanded S2 was performed via the superior amine oxidative efficiency over S1. This study proposes the unprecedented fractal expanding strategy for three-dimensional supramolecular species with higher complexity, potentially opening new avenues for structural regulation of artificial fractal molecules.
- Fractal-expansion,
- Metallo-organic ligands,
- Sierpiński triangles,
- Triangular prisms,
- Photocatalysis
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