Less is more: from inorganic-phosphate to organophosphate directed anionocages

Discrete molecular cages, as artificial mimics of protein cavities, are central to various applications. Anionocages have emerged in the past two decades as a new type of molecular cage, utilizing anion coordination (hydrogen-bonding in nature) as the driving force of self-assembly rather than the widely utilized metal coordination. In this Chemistry Frontiers paper, we will introduce the historical background of anionocages and summarize their critical features, highlighting the high sensitivity of the assemblies in response to external stimuli. Finally, advances of anionocages are introduced in terms of the coordination nodes and critical features of organophosphate-directed anionocages.