Zinc and cadmium complexes with versatile hexadentate Schiff base ligands.The supramolecular self-assembly of a 3-D cage-like complex

Mono- and poly-nuclear neutral complexes have been obtained by electrochemi cal reaction of zinc or cadmium anodes with potentially hexadentate ligands H4Ln (n=1-3). The ligands were prepared by 2:1 condensation of 3-hydroxysa licylaldehyde and 1,2-diaminopropane, 1,3-diaminopropane or 1,4-diaminobuta ne, respectively. They can act either as N2O2 dianionic in mononuclear comp lexes or as N2O4 tetraanionic in polynuclear complexes, where metal ions ar e held together by mu -phenoxo bridges. X-Ray diffraction study of self-ass embled [Zn-8(L-3)(4)(H2O)(3)].H2O .1/4MeCN shows a 3-D cage-like crystal st ructure, where the ligand units display O-2+N2O2+O-2 polynucleating behavio urs.