New supramolecular trigonal prisms from zinc(II)- 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) complexes and trithiocyanurate in aqueous solution.

The multiple bonding between multinuclear zinc(II)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen, a 12-membered tetraamine) complexes and multidentate ligands is an effective method for constructing supramolecular complexes having well defined and distinct structures in aqueous solution. Herein we present examples of supramolecular D(3h) prisms formed by self-assembly of linearly dimeric or trimeric zinc(II)-cyclen complexes with a potentially trianionic C(3) subunit trithiocyanuric acid (TCA(3-)), wherein Zn(2+)-S(-) or Zn(2+)-N(-) coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds are responsible for stability of the multicomponent architectures in aqueous solution at neutral pH.