Chiral 1D and 2D assembly structures of self-complementary copper(II) complexes with imidazole-containing ligands

1-D system: Copper(II) complex with pentadentate strand-type ligand involvi ng two imidazole groups exhibits a self-complementary double-faced H-bondin g recognition and enantioselective self-assembly behavior. The mono-deproto nated complex includes one imidazole and one imidazolate moiety, and due to the spiral arrangement of the acyclic ligand, induces C(clockwise) and A(a nticlockwise) enantiomers. The complex functions as chiral building compone nt and aggregates into...CCCC... and...AAAA... homochiral 1D zigzag-chains, owing to hydrogen-bonding between the imidazole and imidazolate groups of adjacent homochiral units. 2-D system: Copper(II) complex with a hexadentate tripod-type ligand involv ing three imidazole groups induces a chirality of C(clockwise) and A(anticl ockwise) enantiomers due to the screw coordination arrangement of the tripo d-type ligand around the metal ion. Further, the hemi-deprotonated species functions as a chiral self-complementary double-faced H-bonding recognition unit and form a two-dimensional extended honeycomb structure due to the in termolecular imidazole-imidazolate hydrogen bondings. The generated honeyco mb structure is a chiral layer constructed by homochiral aggregation.