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Dr Paul Lusby
e-mail: paul.lusby@ed.ac.uk tel: 0131 651 7106

Research Interests: synthetic coordination chemistry, metal template synthesis, metal driven molecular events and their application to nanoscale machines and motors, catalysis

The focus of our research is the development of novel coordination chemistry that can be exploited (i) in the synthesis of complex topological architectures, such as Borromean rings (Figure 1), and (ii) through reversible molecular binding events form the basis of molecular motors. One such motif is composed of a square planar palladium(II) ion that readily coordinates a combination of tridentate and monodentate ligands. This has been applied to the synthesis of catenanes and rotaxanes and is currently being applied to heterocircuit Borromean rings. This same coordination motif can also be tuned such that the monodentate pyridine ligand undergoes exchange reactions with a series of other monodentate heterocycles as a function of pH. From this reversible binding event, a molecular shuttle has recently been prepared which acts as a two-state Brownian flip-flop. Taking inspiration from nature, we are now interested in creating metal complexes that can walk along a ligating ‘rail’ thus mimicking the action of the biological motor transport protein kinesin (Figure 1).

Overview of molecular shuttle

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  1. Catalytic “Click” rotaxanes: A sub-stoichiometric metal-template pathway to mechanically-interlocked architectures. V. Aucagne, K. D. Hänni, D. A. Leigh, P. J. Lusby, D. B. Walker, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 2186-2187.
  2. Half-rotation in a [2]catenane via interconvertible Pd(II) coordination modes. D. A. Leigh, P. J. Lusby, A. M. Z. Slawin, D. B. Walker, Chem. Commun., 2005, 4919-4921.
  3. Selecting topology and connectivity through metal-directed macrocyclization reactions: A square planar palladium [2]catenate and two non-interlocked isomers. A. L. Fuller, D. A Leigh, P. J. Lusby, A. M. Z. Slawin, D. B. Walker, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 12612-12619.
  4. Rare and diverse binding modes introduced through mechanical bonding. D. A. Leigh, P. J. Lusby, A. M. Z. Slawin, D. B. Walker, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2005, 44, 4557-4564.
  5. A three-dimensional structure from a two-dimensional template: The first palladium(II) [2]rotaxane. A. L. Fuller, D. A. Leigh, P. J. Lusby, S. Parsons, D. B. Walker, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2004, 43, 3914-3918.
  6. A simple general ligand system for assembling octahedral metal-rotaxane complexes. L. Hogg, D. A. Leigh, P. J. Lusby, A. Morelli, S. Parsons, J. K. Y. Wong, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2004, 43, 1218-1221.
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