Controlling the shape and chirality of an eight-crossing molecular knot

The knotting of biomolecules impacts their function and enables them to carry out new tasks. Likewise, complex topologies underpin the operation of many synthetic molecular machines. The ability to generate and control more complex architectures is essential to endow these machines with more advanced functions. Here, we report the synthesis of a molecular knot with eight crossing points, consisting of a single organic loop woven about six templating metal centers, via one-pot self-assembly from a pair of simple dialdehyde and diamine subcomponents and a single metal salt. The structure and topology of the knot were established by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography. Upon demetallation, the purely organic strand relaxes into a symmetric conformation, while retaining the topology of the original knot. This knot is topologically chiral and may be synthesized diastereoselectively through the use of an enantiopure diamine building block.