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Molecules of the year for 2022
![The largest of the new cavitands has an acridane[4]arene base and triptycene-quinoxaline walls and can bind a bulky C70 molecule. Alkyl groups on the base are not shown.](/fileadmin/_processed_/7/d/csm_acs-h.assetsadobe_99bcb4ebca.jpg?1670837199)
Check out C&EN's Molecules of 2022. C&En's editors present the coolest and most unusual molecules of the past year. One of these molecules comes from the Tiefenbacher research group.
Open wide! In 2022, chemists created the largest cavity ever (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2022, DOI: 10.1002/anie.202209885). Scientists make this type of hollow molecular container with an opening on one side to suck up other molecules for applications such as sensing, environmental remediation or catalysis. The acridan[4]arenes have an internal volume of 814 Å3, twice the size of the previous giant cavitand.
Website of the Tiefenbacher research group