Self-assembly and structure of interconverting multinuclear inorganic arrays: a

Coordination of the pentatopic ligand 3 with AgI leads to the simultaneous self-assembly of two polynuclear architectures: a [4 x 5] grid-type species 10 and a quadruple-helicate 11, which contain twenty and ten silver ions. respectively. Their structures have been established by X-ray diffraction analysis of the crystals obtained as a mixture on crystallisation. Complex 10 contains two [2 x 5]-AgI10 rectangular subgrids located on opposite sides of an array of parallel ligands of 3 that are twisted into a transoid N=C-C=N arrangement around the central C-C bond; it may thus be formulated as a grid of grids: [2 x (2 x 5)]. Complex 11 is an inorganic quadruple helicate that consists of two sets of two parallel ligands of 3 connected by an array of ten silver ions. Both compounds 10 and 11 are novel types of polynuclear complexes that are composed of two subunits. Their formation points to the possibility of generating specific arrays of metal ions by self-assembly, involving, in particular, a combination of subunits within the overall entity. They represent organised patterns of ion dots of special significance in view of their formal relationship to quantum dots.