Self-Assembled M ₂₄ L ₄₈ Polyhedra and Their Sharp Structural Switch upon Subtle Ligand Variation

Two Molecular Spheres Viruses form highly symmetrical coat structures, capsids, through the assembly of multiple lower-symmetry protein precursors. Recently, chemists have sought to emulate this process on a smaller scale, relying on the assembly of organic molecular struts and metal ions, rather than proteins. Sun et al. (p. 1144 , published online 29 April; see the Perspective by Stefankiewicz and Sanders ) now demonstrate that a mixture of palladium ions and V-shaped bridging ligands can self-assemble into a hollow, nearly spherical polyhedron with 24 vertices and a central diameter of 4 nanometers. The assembly process was highly sensitive to the ligand angle; a subtle average decrease generated instead a smaller 12-vertex product.