Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.56, No.9, 5471-5477, 2017
Unique Ruthenium Bimetallic Supramolecular Cages From C-4-Symmetric Tetrapyridyl Metalloligands
The self-assembly of C-4-symmetric tetrapyridyl metalloligands containing Fe or Co and diruthenium electron acceptors by means of dative coordination bonding led to the formation of six different heterobimetallic supramolecules. All complexes. were characterized by X-ray crystallography, ESI mass spectrometry, and H-1 NMR (in the case of diamagnetic systems} spectroscopy. The bridging units in the diruthenium complexes greatly influenced the geometrical preference of the supramolecular structures, resulting in the formation of different architectures, namely A(4)D(2) or A(6)D(3) (A = acceptor, D = donor). Depending on the bridging unit, A(4)D(2) tetragonal prism, A(4)D(2) molecular tweezer, or A(6)D(3) triple-decker complexes were obtained Selectively. The self-assembly of an unexpected, triple-decker type Ru12Fe3 heterobimetallic species was also observed.