Figure 16.
The linear helicate approach to simple knots and links. Metal ions induce the twisting of the ligand strands to form a double helix (k‐moves, Section 2.12). If the number of crossings is odd, a molecular knot is created upon connecting a/a’ and b/b’. For an even number of crossings, links ([2]catenanes) are produced. The linear helicate approach was successfully demonstrated by Sauvage for the first three in this series (Hopf link, trefoil knot, and Solomon link), but fails for higher order topologies such as the pentafoil knot 51 (Section 3.3.1).