Three-metal-center spin interactions through the intercalation of metal azaporphines and porphines into an organic pillared coordination box.

Discrete homo Cu-Cu-Cu and hetero Cu-Pd-Cu or Cu-Co-Cu metal arrays are prepared within an organic-pillared coordination box by inserting M(ii)-azaporphine/porphine cartridges (M = Cu(ii), Pd(ii) or Co(ii)), where the metal arrays show unique spin interactions in ESR: in particular, Deltam(s) = 3 for the Cu-Cu-Cu array.