Stępień Lab Research
Some of our favorite molecules – all made in our lab
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Four negatively curved zinc-porphyrin cyclotrimers and two C60 molecules assemble into a pseudotetrahedral node of the cubic UWr-2 framework. Complementary concave and convex surfaces stabilize the assembly through dispersion interactions and propagate the framework’s ctn topology.
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Neutral tetrafluorenofulvalene in its singlet state adopts a strongly twisted geometry and pronounced open-shell character, frustrating conventional π bonding across its central alkene bond. Competition between steric strain, benzenoid aromaticity, and spin pairing underlies its unusual response to changes in charge and spin state.
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The pliable, electron-rich cavity of the molecular squid folds around a dicationic PQ2+ guest to form a compact inclusion complex. This host–guest pair, also featured on the JACS cover, illustrates how the receptor adapts its shape to electron-poor aromatic guests.
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A 9,9′-bicarbazole unit twists a [16]cycloparaphenylene nanohoop into a strained molecular lemniscate. Its figure-eight shape creates a configurationally stable chiral π-system with curvature-dependent spectroscopic features, red-shifted fluorescence, and circularly polarized luminescence.
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An iodide ion occupies the central cavity of neutral [4]chrysaorene, a fully conjugated coronoid macrocycle with pronounced open-shell character. The structure visualizes the close coupling between anion recognition and the redox chemistry of its π-system.
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Six naphthalenemonoimide units radially extend the HPHAC core into a ruffled, electron-deficient nanographene containing 37 fused rings. The molecule combines strong fluorescence in its neutral state with exceptionally rich redox chemistry spanning at least 13 oxidation levels and intense near-infrared absorption in its charged states.