| Rotaxanes are Mechanically Interlocked Molecules (MIMs) formed by a dumbbell-shaped axle and a macrocyclic wheel, which cannot be separated without breaking a covalent bond. Incorporation of rotaxanes into Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) produces organized, dense solid-state systems. This thesis describes the synthesis and study of novel [2] and [3]bis(benzimidazolium) rotaxanes, including shuttling studies and MOF synthesis.;Chapter 1 provides an introduction to MIMs and molecular shuttling, in solution and solid-state. The idea of incorporating MIMs into MOFs is addressed.;Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of two new rotaxanes as well as preliminary study of a cucurbit[7]uril [2]pseudorotaxane. Shuttling studies of the [2]rotaxane in solution were conducted. MOF synthesis incorporating both the [2] and [3]rotaxanes as linkers and analysis of PXRD patterns to determine the probable structures of the MOFs. Finally, summary and possible future work are described.;Chapter 3 describes all of the experimental details including the full synthetic procedure for the preparation of [2] and [3]rotaxanes and relevant characterisation data. |
