Phase-mediated controllable intramolecular and intermolecular photocycloadditions assisted by supramolecular templates

Understanding and controlling supramolecular template effect assembly via a photochemical reaction in different solid and solution phases is one of the main topics in photochemistry. Here, an interesting case of phase-mediated controllable intramolecular/intermolecular photochemical [2+2] cycloadditions assisted by supramolecular templates was demonstrated. Direct irradiation of the complexes in solution yields intramolecular photoproducts exclusively, whereas exposure of the solid powder sample under the same conditions yields intermolecular dinuclear species quantitatively. The nature of the phase and supramolecular interaction affects the geometrical arrangements of the metallacycles, leading to different cycloaddition products under photoirradiation. The crystal structures of different products were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).