A Simple Thermodynamic Model for Rationalizing the Formation of Self-Assembled Multimetallic Edifices: Application to Triple-Stranded Helicates

Programming heterometallic 4f-4f' helicates under thermodynamic control: the circle is complete

Three non-symmetrical segmental ligand strands L4 can be wrapped around a linear sequence of one Zn2+ and two trivalent lanthanide cations Ln3+ to give quantitatively directional [ZnLn2(L4)3]8+ triple-stranded helicates in the solid state and in solution. NMR speciations in CD3CN show negligible decomplexation at a millimolar concentration and the latter helicate can be thus safely considered as a preorganized C3-symmetrical HHH-[(L43Zn)(LnA)(2-n)(LnB)n]8+ platform in which the thermodynamic properties of (i) lanthanide permutation between the central N9 and the terminal N6O3 binding sites and (ii) exchange processes between homo- and heterolanthanide helicates are easy to access (Ln = La, Eu, Lu). Deviations from statistical distributions could be programmed by exploiting specific site recognition and intermetallic pair interactions. Considering the challenging La3+ : Eu3+ ionic pair, for which the sizes of the two cations differ by only 8%, a remarkable excess (70%) of the heterolanthanide is produced, together with a preference for the formation of the isomer where the largest lanthanum cation lies in the central N9 site ([(La)(Eu)] : [(Eu)(La)] = 9 : 1). This rare design and its rational programming pave the way for the preparation of directional light-converters and/or molecular Q-bits at the (supra)molecular level.

Subcomponent self-assembly of circular helical Dy6(L)6 and bipyramid Dy12(L)8 architectures directed via second-order template effects

In situ metal-templated (hydrazone) condensation also called subcomponent self-assembly of 4,6-dihydrazino-pyrimidine, o-vanillin and dysprosium ions resulted in the formation of discrete hexa- or dodecanuclear metallosupramolecular Dy6(L)6 or Dy12(L)8 aggregates resulting from second-order template effects of the base and the lanthanide counterions used in these processes. XRD analysis revealed unique circular helical or tetragonal bipyramid architectures in which the bis(hydrazone) ligand L adopts different conformations and shows remarkable differences in its mode of metal coordination. While a molecule of trimethylamine acts as a secondary template that fills the void of the Dy6(L)6 assembly, sodium ions take on this role for the formation of heterobimetallic Dy12(L)8 by occupying vacant coordination sites, thus demonstrating that these processes can be steered in different directions upon subtle changes of reaction conditions. Furthermore, Dy6(L)6 shows an interesting spin-relaxation energy barrier of 435 K, which is amongst the largest values within multinuclear lanthanide single-molecular magnets.

Recent advances in heteroleptic multiple-stranded metallosupramolecules

Well-ordered combination of defined coordination spheres and multiple types of ligands (heteroleptic) in a given structure can expand the structural complexity and functional diversity of the resulting metallosupramolecules. Such heteroleptic metallosupramolecular architectures are expected to afford advanced utility in a variety of applications. In this concise review article, recent advances in the development of multi-nuclear-cluster-based heteroleptic multiple-stranded (HLMS) metallosupramolecules are summarized and demonstrated. To construct HLMS metallosupramolecules, one type of multitopic ligands can be employed for building up multiple strands, while another type of ligands can be utilized to construct multi-nuclear clusters. Most HLMS metallosupramolecules adopt helical geometries and have high molecular symmetry, which can be key factors for the structural completion. HLMS metallosupramolecules can be used as basic building blocks for the fabrication of higher-order polymeric or discrete assembly architectures with well-defined geometries.

Probing the Dynamics of the Imine-Based Pentafoil Knot and Pentameric Circular Helicate Assembly

We investigate the self-assembly dynamics of an imine-based pentafoil knot and related pentameric circular helicates, each derived from a common bis(formylpyridine)bipyridyl building block, iron(II) chloride, and either monoamines or a diamine. The mixing of circular helicates derived from different amines led to the complete exchange of the N-alkyl residues on the periphery of the metallo-supramolecular scaffolds over 4 days in DMSO at 60 °C. Under similar conditions, deuterium-labeled and nonlabeled building blocks showed full dialdehyde building block exchange over 13 days for open circular helicates but was much slower for the analogous closed-loop pentafoil knot (>60 days). Although both knots and open circular helicates self-assemble under thermodynamic control given sufficiently long reaction times, this is significantly longer than the time taken to afford the maximum product yield (2 days). Highly effective error correction occurs during the synthesis of imine-based pentafoil molecular knots and pentameric circular helicates despite, in practice, the systems not operating under full thermodynamic control.

A supramolecular lanthanide separation approach based on multivalent cooperative enhancement of metal ion selectivity

Multivalent cooperativity plays an important role in the supramolecular self-assembly process. Herein, we report a remarkable cooperative enhancement of both structural integrity and metal ion selectivity on metal-organic M4L4 tetrahedral cages self-assembled from a tris-tridentate ligand (L1) with a variety of metal ions spanning across the periodic table, including alkaline earth (CaII), transition (CdII), and all the lanthanide (LnIII) metal ions. All these M4L14 cages are stable to excess metal ions and ligands, which is in sharp contrast with the tridentate (L2) ligand and bis-tridentate (L3) ligand bearing the same coordination motif as L1. Moreover, high-precision metal ion self-sorting is observed during the mixed-metal self-assembly of tetrahedral M4L4 cages, but not on the M2L3 counterparts. Based on the strong cooperative metal ion self-recognition behavior of M4L4 cages, a supramolecular approach to lanthanide separation is demonstrated, offering a new design principle of next-generation extractants for highly efficient lanthanide separation.

Resolution of microscopic protonation enthalpies of polyprotic molecules by means of cluster expansions

Cluster expansion techniques are used to obtain microconstants and microenthalpies of protonation reactions. The approach relies on the analysis of macroscopic protonation constants and protonation enthalpies within a homologous series. Various linear aliphatic polyamines are considered, including 3,4-tri (spermidine), 3,4,3-tet (spermine), and 2,2,2,2-pent. Besides the full resolution of the microscopic protonation equilibria, one obtains information on the temperature dependence of the microstate probabilities. We find that the concentrations of the dominant microspecies increase with increasing temperature. Due to the large negative protonation enthalpies that are typical for amines, higher temperatures generally favor the less protonated species.

Thermodynamic Parameters Governing the Self-Assembly of Head–Head–Head Lanthanide Bimetallic Helicates

The heterobitopic ligands L ABX (X=1, 2, 3, 4 or 5), differing only by a Cl or NEt(2) substituent, have been designed to complex with a pair of lanthanide ions to form triple-stranded bimetallic helicates of overall composition [Ln2(L ABX)3]6+. The percentage of HHH (head-head-head) isomer, in which each of the three ligand strands coordinates to the same lanthanide ion with the same coordination unit, is deciding the ability of the ligands to selectively form heterobimetallic complexes containing one luminescent and one magnetic or two different luminescent ions. It deviates significantly from the statistical value of 25 % and ranges from 6-20 % for L AB2 complexes to 93-96 % for L AB4 complexes. The equilibrium between HHT (head-head-tail) and HHH isomers has been investigated in detail for homobimetallic helicates (Ln=Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Lu) by means of variable temperature NMR and thermodynamic parameters have been determined. The equilibrium is characterized by small values of DeltaH and DeltaS, which vary in opposite direction along the lanthanide series for complexes with the same ligand in a way that keeps the value of DeltaG almost constant. The results are interpreted in terms of differences in interstrand stacking, ion-dipole interactions and metal-metal repulsion.

Selective Self-Assembly of Hexameric Homo- and Heteropolymetallic Lanthanide Wheels: Synthesis, Structure, and Photophysical Studies

A rational approach to the formation of pure heteropolymetallic lanthanide complexes that uses a two-step assembly strategy and exploits the different size requirements of the two metals included in the final structure is described. The investigation of the assembly of [LnL2](Otf) (L = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine-6-carboxylate) complexes into hexametallic rings hosting an additional hexacoordinated lanthanide cation was crucial for the development of this strategy. The formation and size of the cyclic assembly are controlled by the ionic radius and by the coordination number of the lanthanides. The rather high luminescence quantum yield of the heptaeuropium complex (25%) indicates that the ring structure is well adapted to include highly luminescent lanthanide complexes in nanosized architecture. The use of a stepwise synthetic strategy leads to the selective assembly of large heteropolymetallic rings. The addition of a smaller lanthanide ion to the [EuL2](Otf) complex in anhydrous acetonitrile leads selectively to heterometallic species with the Eu ions located on the peripheral sites and the smaller ion occupying only the central site. The high selectivity is the result of the different size requirements of the two metal sites present in the cyclic structure. The heterometallic structure of the isolated [Lu subset (EuL2)6](Otf)9 complex was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and by high resolution solid-state photophysical studies. The described synthetic approach allowed us to obtain the first example of selective assembly of two different lanthanide ions in a large polymetallic structure characterized in solution and in the solid state and will make the isolation of planned dimetallic combinations presenting different lanthanide emitters in the peripheral sites possible.

Lanthanide Triple-Stranded Helicates: Controlling the Yield of the Heterobimetallic Species

Two unsymmetrical ditopic hexadentate ligands designed for the simultaneous recognition of two different trivalent lanthanide ions have been synthesized, L(AB2) and L(AB3), where A represents a tridentate benzimidazole-pyridine-benzimidazole coordination unit, B2 a diethylamine-substituted benzimidazole-pyridine-carboxamide one, and B3 a chlorine-substituted benzimidazole-pyridine-carboxamide moiety. Under stoichiometric 2:3 (Ln/L) conditions, these ligands self-assemble with lanthanide ions to yield triple-stranded bimetallic helicates. The crystal structures of four helicates with L(AB3) of composition [LnLn'(L(AB3))3](ClO4)6.solv (CeCe, PrPr, PrLu, NdLu) show the metal ions embedded into a helical structure with a pitch of about 13.2-13.4 A. The metal ions lie at a distance of 9.1-9.2 A and are nine-coordinated by the three ligand strands, which are oriented in a HHH (head-head-head) fashion, where all ligand strands are oriented in the same direction. In the presence of a pair of different lanthanide ions in acetonitrile solution, the ligand L(AB3) shows selectivity and gives high yields of heterobimetallic complexes. L(AB2) displays less selectivity, and this is shown to be directly related to the tendency of this ligand to form high yields of HHT (head-head-tail) isomer. A fine-tuning of the HHH left arrow over right arrow HHT equilibrium and of the selectivity for heteropairs of Ln(III) ions is therefore at hand.

New Stepwise Approach to Inert Heterometallic Triple-Stranded Helicates

The new tripodal fac-functionalized building block, fac-ruthenium(II) tris-(5-hydroxymethyl-2,2'-bipyridine), has been synthesized as a single geometric isomer and used as starting point in the isolation of a kinetically inert heterometallic helicate by the stepwise inclusion of additional 2,2'-bipyridine chelating groups followed by a second metal ion. This stepwise synthetic methodology gives access to a new range of chiral nanoscale structures inaccessible by traditional self-assembly procedures.

How to Adapt Scatchard Plot for Graphically Addressing Cooperativity in Multicomponent Self-Assemblies

A graphical method has been developed for the reliable detection of cooperativity in polymetallic complexes involving intra- and intermolecular complexation processes. The method relies on the determination of the partial occupancy r(AL)n, which represents the average number of metals bound per preassembled receptor AL(n) made up of n ligands bound to a linker A. We observe nonlinear, i.e., nonstatistical, Scatchard-like plots (r(AL)n/[M] vs r(AL)n) for metal-binding in double-stranded helicates. The present concept is extended to a virtual, pre-organized receptor L(n), in which no specific linker is involved. Applications to several polymetallic helicates reveal the presence of negatively cooperative processes attributed mainly to intermetallic repulsions, in agreement with recent thermodynamic models.

Simple thermodynamics for unravelling sophisticated self-assembly processes

During the past 15 years, coordination chemistry has rapidly developed toward multicomponent assemblies involving several ligands and metal ions, which are connected via intra- or intermolecular processes. The fascinating structural aspect of these complexation reactions has been early recognized for the design of sophisticated (supra)molecular architectures with novel topologies and functions, while the concomitant energetic part only recently emerged as a potential tools for controlling and programming self-assemblies. In this Perspective, we focus on the modelling of the free energy changes accompanying self-assembly processes. Starting with the original protein-ligand model borrowed from biology, which describes complicated multicomponent assemblies, we present (i) its adaptation to coordination chemistry and (ii) its significance for addressing cooperativity as an extra energy cost resulting from intercomponent interactions. An additional entropic concept arising from the separation of intra- and intermolecular complexation processes is then discussed, together with its explicit consideration for modeling multicomponent complexation reactions. Finally, both aspects (i.e. cooperativity and intra-/intermolecular connections) are combined in the extended site binding model, which is able to dissect free energy changes occurring in sophisticated metal-ligand assemblies with a minimum set of microscopic parameters. Applications to experimental complexation reactions of increasing complexity are systematically discussed, and illustrate the potential and limitations of each model.

A Simple Thermodynamic Model for Quantitatively Addressing Cooperativity in Multicomponent Self-Assembly Processes—Part 2: Extension to Multimetallic Helicates Possessing Different Binding Sites

The extended site-binding model, which explicitly separates intramolecular interactions (i.e., intermetallic and interligand) from the successive binding of metal ions to polytopic receptors, is used for unravelling the self-assembly of trimetallic double-stranded Cu(I) and triple-stranded Eu(III) helicates. A thorough analysis of the available stability constants systematically shows that negatively cooperative processes operate, in strong contrast with previous reports invoking either statistical behaviours or positive cooperativity. Our results also highlight the need for combining successive generations of complexes with common binding units, but with increasing metallic nuclearities, for rationalizing and programming multicomponent supramolecular assemblies.

A Simple Thermodynamic Model for Quantitatively Addressing Cooperativity in Multicomponent Self-Assembly Processes—Part 1: Theoretical Concepts and Application to Monometallic Coordination Complexes and Bimetallic Helicates Possessing Identical Binding Sites

A thermodynamic model has been developed for quantitatively estimating cooperativity in supramolecular polymetallic [M(m)L(n)] assemblies, as the combination of two simple indexes measuring intermetallic (I(c)MM) and interligand (I(c)LL) interactions. The usual microscopic intermolecular metal-ligand affinities (f(i)(M,L)) and intermetallic interaction parameters (uMM), adapted to the description of successive intermolecular binding of metal ions to a preorganized receptor, are completed with interligand interactions (uLL) and effective concentrations (c(eff)), accounting for the explicit free energy associated with the aggregation of the ligands forming the receptor. Application to standard monometallic pseudo-octahedral complexes [M(L)(n)(H2O)(6 - n)] (M = Co, Ni, Hf, L = ammonia, fluoride, imidazole, n = 1-6) systematically shows negative cooperativity (uLL < 1), which can be modulated by the electronic structures, charges, and sizes of the entering ligands and of the metal ions. Extension to the self-assembly of more sophisticated bimetallic helicates possessing identical binding sites is discussed, together with the origin of the positively cooperative formation of [Eu2(L3)3].

Isolation and characterization of the first circular single-stranded polymetallic lanthanide-containing helicate

A thorough examination of the disassembly of bimetallic triple-stranded lanthanide helicates [Ln2(Li)3]6+ (stoichiometry S = m/n = 2/3 = 0.67, global complexity GC = m + n = 2 + 3 = 5) in excess of metals shows the competitive formation of standard linear bimetallic complexes [Ln2(Li)2]6+ (S= 1.0, GC = 4), and circular trimetallic single-stranded helicates [Ln3(Li)3]9+ (S= 1.0, GC = 6).

Statistical mechanical approach to competitive binding of metal ions to multi-center receptors

A microscopic site binding model to treat binding of several metal ions to multi-center receptors is proposed. The model introduces the appropriate parameterization in terms of microscopic complexation constants and metal-metal pair interaction energies. The model is solved with statistical mechanical techniques, including direct enumeration or transfer matrices. We obtain microscopic and macroscopic complexation constants, microstate probabilities, and binding isotherms for chain-like receptors, including the long-chain limit. Various examples to illustrate the usefulness of the model are given.