The Encapsulation Phenomenon

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This fundamental book provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of the art in the chemistry of cage compounds. It explores various methods for encapsulating ions and molecules using three-dimensional caging ligands to form molecular and polymeric species, including covalent, supramolecular, and coordination capsules. The authors classify these compounds, discuss their reactivity, and highlight selected practical applications. Encapsulation isolates caged ions and molecules from external factors, leading to unique physical and chemical properties. This specificity can facilitate a range of applications such as chemical separation, recognition, chiral separation, catalysis, and the development of sensors, probes, or molecular carriers. A strong emphasis is placed on the synthesis of various cage compounds, with over 850 literature references and more than 600 schemes and illustrations provided for clarity. The book is organized by types of caging ligands and further categorized by ligand classes and types of encapsulated species, including neutral molecules, anions, and cations. This structure makes it an exhaustive reference resource, summarizing the current state of research into encapsulated species, which has become a distinct area within modern chemistry.