稀土金属-有机超分子结合了稀土金属离子和有机配体两者的优点，在催化、磁性、传感、药物传输等诸多方面表现出优异的性能及潜在的应用价值；另一方面，芳香性Zintl离子，一种以德国化学家Zintl名字命名的主族元素聚阴离子簇，同样在催化等领域有着重要应用前景，然而，由于Zintl离子具有溶解范围窄、空气敏感等缺点，限制了其进一步应用。本项目拟设计并合成一系列具有芳香性的多齿席夫碱配体，与稀土离子组装成相应笼状超分子材料，利用芳香性堆积作用，将芳香性Zintl离子封装，在克服Zintl离子溶解范围窄及空气敏感等缺点的同时，进一步研究这类材料在二氧化碳环加成等催化反应中的应用。本项目还将结合理论计算深入研究Zintl离子与超分子笼的主客体相互作用，并探索催化反应的机理，根据结果反馈调节席夫碱配体的结构，不断发掘新颖而高效的稀土功能配合物材料。

Rare earth metal-organic supermolecules, combining the advantages of rare earth metal ions and organic ligands, have shown tremendous potential for applications in catalysis, magnetism, sensors, drug delivery and other fields. Moreover, aromatic Zintl ions, a kind of main group polyanion cluster named after Zintl who is a German chemist, also have broad application prospects in catalytic reactions. However, the disadvantages of narrow dissolution range and air sensitive have became barriers for the further utilizations of Zintl ions. This project aims at designing and preparing a series of aromatic Schiff base ligands to assemble the corresponding supramolecular cages with rare earth metal ions. The aromatic Zintl ions will be encapsulated in the cages via aromatic stacking, thus overcome the disadvantages. Then, these materials will be applied on catalytic reactions of small molecules, such as the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide. In addition, this project will focus on the host-guest interactions of supermolecules and the Zintl ions, as well as the mechanism of catalytic reactions through theoretical calculations. The results will in return help modify the ligand and explore novel and efficient rare earth functional complex materials.