A metal-directed self-assembled electroactive cage with bis(pyrrolo)tetrathiafulvalene (BPTTF) side walls

A straightforward synthesis of a bis(pyrrolo)tetrathiafulvalene (BPTTF)-based tetratopic ligand bearing four pyridyl units is described. The first example of a TTF-based self-assembled cage has been produced from this redox-active ligand through metal-directed synthesis with a cis-coordinated square-planar Pt(II) complex. The resulting cage corresponds to a trigonal-prismatic structure, as shown by X-ray crystallography. A UV-vis titration indicated that the electron-rich cavity can be used to incorporate one molecule of tetrafluorotetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TCNQF(4)).