The cation-π interaction is an attractive force between a cation and the polarized electron cloud of a π system, considered as one of the strongest non-covalent interactions. Cation-π interactions have played important roles in various fields such as biomedicine, chemistry, and materials science. Generally, to form cation-π interactions, the molecular planes containing cationic groups and aromatic structures are typically required to intersect. However, in order to achieve two-dimensional supramolecular assembly, all building units need to be repetitively arranged in two orthogonal dimensions, making it challenging to utilize cation-π interactions with strong bonding characteristics to prepare stable two -dimensional supramolecular materials.

   Recently, the research group proposed a "dual cation-π guided self-assembly" strategy to avoid the intersection between the molecular planes containing cationic groups and those containing aromatic structures, enabling the formation of stable structures driven by cation-π interactions to grow in a two-dimensional plane, resulting in two-dimensional supramolecular polymers (organic layers). These organic layers exhibited high thermal stability and excellent solvent tolerance. Moreover, The present study introduces a stable two-dimensional organic layer that serves as an innovative template for the in situ growth of metal nanoparticles with uniform size and excellent dispersion. This template exhibits remarkable catalytic activity and recyclability in coupling reactions and dye degradation reactions. These research findings present a novel method for the synthesis of stable functional two-dimensional supramolecular materials, offering new avenues for their preparation.

The research findings were recently published in "Angewandte Chemie International Edition" (2020, 59, 9534–9541) and were selected as a "Hot Paper" and featured on the inside cover.

Doctoral student Xuedong Xiao from the research group and doctoral student Hongbo Chen from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are co-first authors of the paper. Professor Wei Tian is the corresponding author, and Dr. Dapeng Wang, a researcher from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, contributed to the theoretical calculations and other aspects of the work for this paper.

[Paper Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.202000255]

[Cover Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.202005819]