Designed Asymmetric Coordination Helicates with bis-β-diketonate Ligands

A new bis-(β-diketone) ligand featuring built-up structural asymmetry yields the non-symmetric Fe(III) and Ga(III) dinuclear, triple-stranded helicates by design. Their structural properties have been studied, both in solid state and solution, and compared with their corresponding symmetric analogues. The robustness observed show the potential of this synthetic strategy to develop non-symmetric helicoidal motifs with specific functional groups.