Dicarboxylate-bridged ruthenium complexes as building blocks for molecular nanostructures

Ruthenium complexes with bridging dicarboxylate ligands were combined with 1,2-di-4-pyridylethylene (dpe), 2,4,6-tri-4-pyridyltriazine (4-tpt), or 2,4,6-tri-3-pyridyltriazine (3-tpt) to give a tetranuclear rectangle or hexanuclear coordination cages. The cages display a trigonal-prismatic geometry, as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The 4-tpt-based cages are able to encapsulate polyaromatic molecules such as pyrene, triphenylene, or coronene, whereas the 3-tpt-based cages were found to be incompetent hosts for these guests.