Preparation of a Chiral, 2-Dimensional Network Containing Metallacrown and Copper Benzoate Building Blocks

Abstract

Chiral metallacrowns have been fused into layers using neutral copper benzoate paddlewheel dimers and nitrate anions to link each 12-MC-4 molecule. The solid contains approximately 9 Å channels that are filled with solvent and a benzoic acid guest. A related chain structure that is generated by connecting metallacrowns with the copper dimer, but which does not have nitrate bridges in the second dimension, also has channels of similar size. These observations suggest a generalizable strategy for the preparation of microporous chiral solids in bulk quantities.