research papers
This article describes periodic polycatenane structures built from interlocked rings in which no two are directly linked. The 2-periodic vertex-, edge- and ring-transitive families of hexagonal Borromean rings are described in detail, and it is shown how these give rise to 1- and 3-periodic ring-transitive (isonemal) families. A second isonemal 2-periodic family is identified, as is a unique 3-periodic Borromean assembly of equilateral triangles. Also reported is a notable 2-periodic structure comprising chains of linked rings in which the chains are locked in place but no two chains are directly interlinked, being held in place as a novel `quasi-Borromean' set of four repeating components.
Keywords: polycatenanes; Borromean property; ring-transitive family; edge-transitive family; vertex-transitive family.
Supporting information
Portable Document Format (PDF) file https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053273323009269/nv5009sup1.pdf |