A homochiral nanotubular crystalline framework of metallomacrocycles for enantioselective recognition and separation

A highly ordered homochiral nanotubular crystalline framework was assembled from a hexameric Zn(6)L(6)metallaycle that was built from metallosalen ZnL units (H2L = (R, R)-(-)-N,N-Bis(3-tert-butyl-5-(4-pyridyl) salicylidene)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) by the complementary coordination of the pyridyl groups to the metal centers. Chiral channels and hydrophobic functionality presented by this structure make it an excellent host to recognize and separate racemic alcohols with high enantioselectivity (up to 99.5%). The crystalline solid can be easily recycled and reused five times without loss of crystallinity and enantioselectivity.