Construction of 18-membered monometallic macrocycles by a trans-spanning ligand

The metallomacrocycles 4 and 5 have been constructed by self-assembling between PdII or PtII with the polydentated ligand 1,3-bis((2-((pyridin-2-ylmethyl)thio)phenyl)thio)propane (3) and their structures were determined by IR, NMR spectroscopy, HR-MS mass spectrometry and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The molecular structures of 4 and 5 reveal the formation of discrete 18-membered monometallic macrocycles generated by the assembly of one ligand and one metal atom. In this process ligand 3 acts in a trans-spanning mode via the nitrogen atoms of the pyridine rings. In a DMSO-d6 solution the metallomacrocycles 4 and 5 experiment a disassembly process.