Coordination-driven self-assembly of dibenzo-18-crown-6 functionalized Pt(II) metallacycles

Coordination-driven self-assembly was used to construct two metallacycles of a dicarboxylate-functionalized dibenzo-18-crown-6 in combination with either a 0° anthracene-based clip-type acceptor or a 60° phenanthrene-based acceptor. The angularities of these moieties make them suitable for the formation of a [2 + 2] rectangle and a [3 + 3] triangle, respectively. The synthesis, characterization and host-guest chemistry of two metallacycles were described and supported by 31P{1H}, 1H NMR spectra and electrospray mass spectrometry.