Jack of all trades: anion and transition metal binding by bis-triazole receptors

Four acyclic phenylene-1,3-bis-triazole receptors were synthesised with the heterocyclic motif covalently attached to the central phenyl ring through either the carbon or nitrogen. H-1 NMR titration experiments reveal that all the receptors bind chloride in d(6)-acetone solution with the aryl-substituted systems exhibiting significantly stronger halide association than the alkyl-substituted receptors. Both N-linked systems bind chloride more strongly than their C-linked analogues. Copper(I) and silver(I) cations were also demonstrated to bind to the receptors in solution and in the solid state. Four metal complexes were structurally characterised by X-ray crystallography - in all cases giving interesting polynuclear architectures with a dinuclear silver(I) metallomacrocycle, a trimetallic copper(I) and two tetranuclear silver(I) clusters observed.