Self-assembly of metal–organic hybrid nanoscopic rectangles

The combination of an amide containing a linear ligand (L1) and an organometallic molecular “clip” (clip-1) leads to the self-assembly of a Pt4 nanoscopic framework representing the first example of a Pt-based molecular rectangle (rectangle-1) incorporating amide functionality. A complementary approach was also followed to prepare a Pd(II)-based molecular rectangle (rectangle-2) by reaction of a donor organic rigid clip (clip-2) and trans-(PEt3)2Pd(OTf)2 as the linear metal acceptor (L2). The Pd(II)-rectangle was characterised by multinuclear NMR and ESI-mass spectroscopy.