Metal-Ion Specific Recognition with Amplified Transcription from Subnanometer to Submillimeter or Real-Time Domain by Self-Assembled Vanadyl Quartets.

Vanadyl(V) complexes and bearing a nematic liquid crystal (LC) like a -heptoxyphenyl group or a fluorous-tag -nonafluoroheptoxyphenyl (NFH) group at the C5 position of the -salicylidene template were designed and synthesized. Each complex was subjected to MVO-induced self-assembly to form metal-ion, encapsulated quartet clusters - and -. The Na in cluster complex - or - can be readily replaced by Rb, Ag, or Hg in an aqueous layer to form cluster complexes by ion swapping at the HO/CDCl bilayer interface.