A Metal-Directed Self-Assembled Electroactive Cage with Bis(pyrrolo)tetrathiafulvalene (BPTTF) Side Walls

A straightforward synthesis of a bis-(pyrrolo)tetrathiafulvalene (BPTTF)-based tetratopic ligand bearing four pyridyl units is described The first example of a TTF-based self assembled cage has been produced from this redox-active ligand through metal directed synthesis with a cis-coordinated square-planar Pt(II) complex. The resulting cage corresponds to a trigonal-prismatic structure, as shown by X-ray crystallography. A UV-vis titration indicated that the electron-rich cavity can be used to incorporate one molecule of tetrafluorotetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TCNQF(4)).