Self-assembly and crystal structure of a novel octadecametallic square boxcomposed of 52 single components

Reaction of divalent hexacoordinate metal ions with either tetradentate N- (2-piridylmethyl)iminodiethanol (3; H2L4) or tridentate N-(2-chlorobenzyl)i minodiethanol (5; H2L5) resulted in the formation of two completely differe nt products. Starting from nickel(II) acetate and tetradentate 3, linear tr inuclear complex [{Ni(HL4)}(2)- Ni(OAc)(2)(HCO2)(2)] (4) was formed. Howeve r, when tridentate 5 was allowed to react with cobalt(II) acetate, the nove l octadecametallic square box [Na-2-{Co-4(HL5)(3)(OAc)(5)}(4)(HCO2)(2)] (6) was isolated. Chiral 6 has D-2-molecule symmetry and crystalizes with both enantiomers in the unit cell. The structures of all new compounds were det ermined unequivocally by single-crystal X-ray analyses.