Assembly of three sulfonylcalix[4]arene-based multinuclear complexes: Tunable structures and guest encapsulation properties

Abstract

Understanding and controlling the structure of polymetallic clusters plays a fundamental role in supramolecular chemistry. Herein we describe the preparation of three sulfonylcalix[4]arenebased multinuclear cluster complexes, namely, [Fe4(TBSC)2(DMF)4(µ3-H2O)2(H2O)2·2MeCN] (1), [Fe2Na4(TBSC)2(DMF)4(µ6-H2O)(H2O)2] (2), and [Fe4(TBSC)(Py)4(µ4-H2O)] (3) from trivalent iron ions and p-tert-butylsulfonylcalix[4]arene ligands by the metal-directed assembly. These complexes exhibit interesting tunable core structures, exo cavities, supramolecular packing characteristics in the solid state. As a result, the three multinuclear complexes exhibit selective molecular recognition toward the dye molecules.