Our next paper derives from a collaboration with prof. Carmela Aprile Research Group from the University of Namur! This work is the effect of Kasia Mituła and Julia Duszczak internship in Belgium last year. It is focused on an efficient and selective synthetic approach to novel difunctionalized DDSQs with two (styrylethynylphenyl)-terpyridine moieties obtained via consecutive silylative and Sonogashira coupling reaction. This is the first example demonstrating the catalytic reactivity of disubstituted DDSQs in Sonogashira coupling and an important aspect revealing the potential application of these frameworks. Obtained derivatives were employed as nanocage ligands to promote self-assembly in the presence of transition metals (TM), i.e., Zn^2+, Fe²⁺, and Eu³⁺ ions, to form (also 1^st report in literature) one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymeric nanofibers. What is more, the presence of styryl groups bridging the silsesquioxane core to the (ethynylphenyl)terpyridine moiety enables reversible E−Z isomerization of the double bond without detrimental effects on the DDSQ structure, which may be employed to tune the emission properties. This behavior makes DDSQ-based complexes promising candidates for applications in materials chemistry.

Double-Decker Silsesquioxanes Self-Assembled in One-Dimensional Coordination Polymeric Nanofibers with Emission Properties
Julia Duszczak, Katarzyna Mituła, Andrea Santiago-Portillo,* Loraine Soumoy, Monika Rzonsowska, Rafał Januszewski, Luca Fusaro, Carmela Aprile,* and Beata Dudziec*
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2021, 13, 19, 22806–22818 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c02510