About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals

Polyhedral “cage” compounds such as cubane, adamantane, dodecahedrane, and their perfluorinated analogs, despite their appellation and standard representation, show little aptitude for supramolecular host–guest chemistry. The mere inspection of covalent and van der Waals atomic radii should convince...

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Main Author: Riess, Jean G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Académie des sciences 2024-05-01
Series:Comptes Rendus. Chimie
Subjects:
Online Access:https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/chimie/articles/10.5802/crchim.288/
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author Riess, Jean G.
author_facet Riess, Jean G.
author_sort Riess, Jean G.
collection DOAJ
description Polyhedral “cage” compounds such as cubane, adamantane, dodecahedrane, and their perfluorinated analogs, despite their appellation and standard representation, show little aptitude for supramolecular host–guest chemistry. The mere inspection of covalent and van der Waals atomic radii should convince the most dubious Reader of that. Yet, some perplexing patents claim the insertion of oxygen molecules within perfluorohexamethylenetetramine, a (not yet documented) compound that is structurally related to perfluoroadamantane. The question of the publishability of a skeptical opinion on such techno-legal documents in scientific journals is raised. Further considerations relate to didactic approaches, correction of misconceptions, scientific edition challenges, publication ethics, societal awareness, scientists’ accountability, and include a plea for freedom of expression, increased transparency in the article reviewing process, and enhanced communication between, editors, referees, and authors. The referees’ comments on this opinion paper and author’s responses are provided as supplementary data.
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spelling doaj-art-8d754880cabc4681b476de52947b68612025-02-07T13:39:46ZengAcadémie des sciencesComptes Rendus. Chimie1878-15432024-05-0127G111312710.5802/crchim.28810.5802/crchim.288About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journalsRiess, Jean G.0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8937-7327Harangoutte, Ste-Croix-aux-Mines 68160, FrancePolyhedral “cage” compounds such as cubane, adamantane, dodecahedrane, and their perfluorinated analogs, despite their appellation and standard representation, show little aptitude for supramolecular host–guest chemistry. The mere inspection of covalent and van der Waals atomic radii should convince the most dubious Reader of that. Yet, some perplexing patents claim the insertion of oxygen molecules within perfluorohexamethylenetetramine, a (not yet documented) compound that is structurally related to perfluoroadamantane. The question of the publishability of a skeptical opinion on such techno-legal documents in scientific journals is raised. Further considerations relate to didactic approaches, correction of misconceptions, scientific edition challenges, publication ethics, societal awareness, scientists’ accountability, and include a plea for freedom of expression, increased transparency in the article reviewing process, and enhanced communication between, editors, referees, and authors. The referees’ comments on this opinion paper and author’s responses are provided as supplementary data.https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/chimie/articles/10.5802/crchim.288/Cage compoundHost–guest chemistryNon-covalent bindingFluorocarbonOxygen carrierPublication ethicsScience and society
spellingShingle Riess, Jean G.
About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
Comptes Rendus. Chimie
Cage compound
Host–guest chemistry
Non-covalent binding
Fluorocarbon
Oxygen carrier
Publication ethics
Science and society
title About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
title_full About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
title_fullStr About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
title_full_unstemmed About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
title_short About polyhedrane “cages” and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity: a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
title_sort about polyhedrane cages and their doubtful supramolecular lodging capacity a demonstration by the absurd and a plea for free expression in scientific journals
topic Cage compound
Host–guest chemistry
Non-covalent binding
Fluorocarbon
Oxygen carrier
Publication ethics
Science and society
url https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/chimie/articles/10.5802/crchim.288/
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