The design and synthesis of polymer-based metallomacrocycles relying on metal-ligand interactions remain a challenge in the polymer field. Instead of utilizing chemical reactions to synthesize macrocycles, a general approach is proposed to construct metallomacrocyclic structures through supramolecular self-assembly of a specific macroligand with suitable transition metal ions. Therefore, a new ditopic macroligand (L) consisting of PEG end-capped with 2,6-bis(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine derivatives is prepared via CuAAC "click" reaction. Four types of metal (Fe2+ , Zn2+ , Ni2+ , and Cu2+ ) complexes are obtained by simply mixing a solution of metal ions and L in appropriate concentrations. The investigation of the coordination chemistry suggests that coordination of L with Cu2+ results in the formation of a [1+1] metallomacrocycle, while the other metal complexes exclusively lead to the formation of linear metallopolymers and/or larger aggregates. This work provides new insights into designing metallomacrocycles and may have potential application in the synthesis of catenanes and other cyclic or cycle-based topological architectures.
Keywords: [1+1] metallomacrocycle; metal-ligand coordination; supramolecular polymers.
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