Enhanced silver ion binding to a rigid bisarene molecular cleft with formation of nonpolar pleated sheets through non-ionic intermolecular forces.

Silver ion complexation to bisarene ligands is enhanced by providing a conformationally rigid molecular cleft in the (Z)-acenaphthylene dimer 1. NMR titrations were used to determine complexation constants K for a series of ligands in tetrahydrofuran solution, with K = 4.9 M(-1) for the Z dimer 1 and 0.4 M(-1) for the E dimer 2. Higher values of K were observed in CDCl(3)/CD(3)OD 9:1 with K = 38 M(-1) for 1 and K = 4.1 M(-1) for 2. In the solid state, isolated clusters of [1 x (AgCF(3)SO(3))(2)](2) form a novel, pleated-sheet motif based on non-ionic interactions between clusters.