Efficient multi-click approach to well-defined two-faced octasilsesquioxanes: the first perfect Janus nanocube

Abstract

The preparation of the first structurally well-defined Janus nanocube showing two chemically distinct opposed faces is described. The synthetic approach is based on a highly efficient and symmetry-controlled CuAAC functionalization of an octa-azido cubic silsesquioxane with a conformationally constrained tetra-alkyne with an appropriate spatial orientation of the triple bonds.