Alkylated organic cages: from porous crystals to neat liquids

Rigid organic iminospherand cages are rendered meltable by multiple alkylation; below their melting points they can take the form of permanently porous crystals, crystals unstable to desolvation or non-porous glassy solids depending on chain length and branching; melting points as low as 50 °C are observed and a fully Newtonian liquid phase is obtained above 80 °C. Thin glassy fibres can be drawn out from a molten phase.