Rational design of linear trinuclear metal complexes

A great deal of interest in multimetallic complexes derives from the special chemical and physical properties resulting from the mutual interaction of two or more metal centers. Of particular interest are one-dimensional chains of metal complexes. Materials of this type have exhibited unusual magnetic, optical, and conduction properties. Despite the great interest in this area, the development of widely applicable, rational methods for synthesis of desired metal chain complexes remains elusive. As part of a program to prepare metal-containing polymers, the authors have synthesized multichelating ligand systems. They recently reported the synthesis of a new binucleating ligand, cis-5,15-bis(o-({beta}-alanylamido)phenyl)-2,8,12,18-tetraethyl-3,7,13,17-tetramethylporphyrin, (H{sub 2}(DPE))(NH{sub 2}){sub 2}, and showed that the porphyrin core of this ligand can be metalated to produce mononuclear building blocks. They now report that these complexes can be readily used to prepare linear trinuclear metal complexes.