A Tray‐Shaped, Pd II ‐Clipped Au 3 Complex as a Scaffold for the Modular Assembly of [3× n ] Au Ion Clusters

A tray‐shaped Pd II 3 Au I 3 complex ( 1 ) is prepared from 3,5‐bis(3‐pyridyl)pyrazole by means of tricyclization with Au I followed by Pd II clipping. Tray 1 is an efficient scaffold for the modular assembly of [3×n] Au I clusters. Treatment of 1 with the Au I 3 tricyclic guest 2 in H 2 O/CH 3 CN (7:3) or H 2 O results in the selective formation of a [3×2] cluster ( 1 ⋅ 2 ) or a [3×3] cluster ( 1 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 1 ), respectively. Upon subsequent addition of Ag I ions, these complexes are converted to an unprecedented Au 3 –Au 3 –Ag–Au 3 –Au 3 metal ion cluster.