Metal ion-controlled self-assembly using pyrimidine hydrazone molecular strands with terminal hydroxymethyl groups: a comparison of Pb(II) and Zn(II) complexes

Inorg Chem. 2011 Aug 15;50(16):7637-49. doi: 10.1021/ic200670w. Epub 2011 Jul 13.

Abstract

Metal complexation studies were performed with the ditopic pyrimidine-hydrazone (pym-hyz) strand 6-hydroxymethylpyridine-2-carboxaldehyde (2-methyl-pyrimidine-4,6-diyl)bis(1-methylhydrazone) (1) and Pb(ClO(4))(2)·3H(2)O, Pb(SO(3)CF(3))(2)·H(2)O, Zn(SO(3)CF(3))(2), and Zn(BF(4))(2) to examine the ability of 1 to form various supramolecular architectures. X-ray crystallographic and NMR studies showed that coordination of the Pb(II) salts with 1 on a 2:1 metal/ligand ratio in CH(3)CN and CH(3)NO(2) resulted in the linear complexes [Pb(2)1(ClO(4))(4)] (2), [Pb(2)1(ClO(4))(3)(H(2)O)]ClO(4) (3), and [Pb(2)1(SO(3)CF(3))(3)(H(2)O)]SO(3)CF(3) (4). Two unusually distorted [2 × 2] grid complexes, [Pb1(ClO(4))](4)(ClO(4))(4) (5) and [Pb1(ClO(4))](4)(ClO(4))(4)·4CH(3)NO(2) (6), were formed by reacting Pb(ClO(4))(2)·6H(2)O and 1 on a 1:1 metal/ligand ratio in CH(3)CN and CH(3)NO(2). These grids formed despite coordination of the hydroxymethyl arms due to the large, flexible coordination sphere of the Pb(II) ions. A [2 × 2] grid complex was formed in solution by reacting Pb(SO(3)CF(3))(2)·H(2)O and 1 on a 1:1 metal/ligand ratio in CH(3)CN as shown by (1)H NMR, microanalysis, and ESMS. Reacting the Zn(II) salts with 1 on a 2:1 metal/ligand ratio gave the linear complexes [Zn(2)1(H(2)O)(4)](SO(3)CF(3))(4)·C(2)H(5)O (7) and [Zn(2)1(BF(4))(H(2)O)(2)(CH(3)CN)](BF(4))(3)·H(2)O (8). (1)H NMR studies showed the Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions in these linear complexes were labile undergoing metal ion exchange. All of the complexes exhibited pym-hyz linkages in their cisoid conformation and binding between the hydroxymethyl arms and the metal ions. No complexes were isolated from reacting either of the Zn(II) salts with 1 on a 1:1 metal/ligand ratio, due to the smaller size of the Zn(II) coordination sphere as compared to the much larger Pb(II) ions.