A C60-Templated Tetrameric Porphyrin Barrel Complex via Zinc-Mediated Self-Assembly Utilizing Labile Capping Ligands

Coordination-driven self-assembly utilizing labile capping ligands has been exploited as a novel strategy for metallo-cage containers. Herein, we report a tetrameric porphyrin barrel complex [C-60 subset of Zn(8)1(4)(H2O)(4)(OTs)(12))(OTs)(4) (2) (OTs = p-CH3C6H4SO3) formed from a tetrakis(bipyridyl)porphyrin ligand 1, Zn(OTs)(2), and a template guest, C-60 fullerene. The tetrameric-barrel 2 contains two kinds of bis(bpy) Zn-II centers coordinated by TsO- anions which serve as labile capping ligands in the formation of the finite structure of 2.