Preparation of a porphyrinic bis(pyridyl aldehyde) and its supramolecular complexes.

Shape-specific molecular assemblies require the preparation of the constituent building blocks with the necessary properties to bias exclusive formation of the proposed structures. In this work, a novel linear porphyrin dialdehyde was synthesised and used to assemble a supramolecular grid via Cu(i) heteroleptic phenanthroline/pyridyl imine complexation, and a tetrahedral cage via Fe(ii) pyridyl imine coordination.