Molecular squares, cubes and chains from self-assembly of bis-bidentate bridging ligands with transition metal dications.

The two new ligands L(fur) and L(th) consist of two chelating pyrazolyl-pyridine termini connected to furan-2,5-diyl or thiophene-2,5-diyl spacers via methylene groups. Reaction of these with a range of transition metal dications that prefer octahedral coordination affords a series of unusual structures which are all based on a 2M : 3L ratio. [M(8)(L(fur))(12)]X(16) (M = Co, Cu, X = BF(4); and M = Zn, X = ClO(4)) are octanuclear cubes with approximate D(4) symmetry in which two cyclic tetranuclear helicate M(4)L(4) units are connected by four additional 'pillar' ligands. In contrast [Ni(4)(L(fur))(6)](BF(4))(8) is a centrosymmetric molecular square consisting of two dinuclear Ni(2)L(2) units of opposite chirality that are connected by a pair of additional L(fur) ligands such that the four edges of the Ni(4) square are spanned by alternately two and one bridging ligands. [M(4)(L(th))(6)](BF(4))(8) (M = Co, Ni, Cu) are likewise molecular squares with similar structures to [Ni(4)(L(fur))(6)](BF(4))(8) with the significant difference that the two crosslinked double helicate M(2)L(2) units are now homochiral. The Cd(II) complexes both behave quite differently to the first-row metal complexes, with [Cd(L(fur))(BF(4))](BF(4)) being a simple mononuclear complex with a single ligand in which the furan oxygen atom is weakly interacting with the Cd(II) centre. In contrast, in {[Cd(2)(L(th))(3)](BF(4))(4)}(∞), where this quasi-pentadentate coordination mode of the ligand is not possible because thiophene is too poor an electron donor, the ligand reverts to bis-bidentate bridging coordination to afford a one-dimensional chain consisting of an infinite sequence of crosslinked, homochiral, Cd(2)(L(th))(2) double helicate units.