Building blocks for coordination polymers: self-assembled cleft-like and planar discrete metallo-macrocyclic complexes.

Discrete dinuclear metallo-macrocyclic complexes have been prepared from the flexible amide ligand N-6-[(3-pyridylmethylamino)carbonyl]pyridine-2-carboxylic acid (L1-CH(3)), and its more rigid analogue, N-6-[(3-pyridylamino)carbonyl]pyridine-2-carboxylic acid (L3-CH(3)). With ligands L1-CH(3) and L3-CH(3), discrete dinuclear metallo-macrocyclic complexes with the generic formula [Cu(2)(L1-CH(3))(2)(X)(2)(Y)(2)] (7, X = NO(3); 8, X = Cl, Y = H(2)O; 9, X = ClO(4), Y = CH(3)OH) and [Cu(2)(L3-CH(3))(2)(X)(2)(Y)(2)] (10, X = NO(3), Y = H(2)O; 11, X = ClO(4), Y = CH(3)OH) are obtained. For complexes 7-9, containing the more flexible link L1-CH(3), these complexes are cleft-shaped and hinged at the methylene spacer, which allows the cleft to widen and contract to accommodate different packing modes in the solid-state. In contrast, the rigid link L3-CH(3) gives near planar metallo-macrocyclic structures. These metallo-macrocyclic compounds may be useful building blocks for coordination polymers.