Redox-driven intramolecular motion

Figure 2.1 A square scheme illustrating a redox-driven intramolecular motion. Species with an asterisk (Ox and Red ) are metastable and tend to rearrange to their stable topological isomer (Ox and Red).

The pioneering papers by Stoddart and Sauvage have stimulated the design of a variety of movable rotaxanes and catenanes, whose controlled motion is promoted by a redox change. In all cases, the process of the redox-driven intramolecular motion can be described by a square scheme, as illustrated in Fig. 2.1. 

There exist other types of redox-driven intramolecular motions that can be interpreted on the basis of the square scheme of Fig. 2.1 and are promoted by... 

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