Coordination chemistry of N,N,4-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)aniline: a novel flexible, multimodal ligand

The ligand N,N,4-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)aniline was synthethised using a multicomponent reaction, which is applicable to the synthesis of a large library of similarly structured ligands. A range of metal complexes with copper, cobalt and manganese ions were crystallised as discrete complexes, dimers and 1D coordination polymers, illustrating the flexibility of the ligand in the preparation of diverse structures. While coordination about the metal centres is similar in each group with a common metal ion, the different structures represent materials with varying structural and packing topologies. Varying the counterions and crystallisation solvents gives rise to discrete complexes, dimers and a porous 1D coordination polymer. In the latter case, solvent molecules entrapped in the channels are replaceable and guest exchange is detected by single crystal and powder diffraction indicating interesting storage possibilities.