The Wittig Reaction as a Key Step in the Preparation of Triangular Ligands for the Self-Assembly of Molecular M4L4 Tetrahedra

Triangular ligands based on a central C 3 -symmetric backbone, ethylene linkages, and catechol ligand units, are prepared by a Wittig approach. The ligands form, in metal-directed self-assembly processes, tetrahedral coordination compounds of the composition M 4 L 4 .