Metal complexes of tripodal ligands as ionophores for alkali metal ions

The electrically neutral metal(III) complexes of tripodal ligands, 1,1,1-tris[(salicylideneamino)methyl]ethane and 1,1,1-tris[(3-methoxysalicylideneamino)methyl]ethane, were found to function as ionophores for alkali metal ions. The complexes of the latter ligand extract alkali metal picrates from aqueous solutions into dichloromethane with a similar selectivity to that of dibenzo-24-crown-8.