A triple-pore tessellated square array by a metal-hexagonal ligand with reinforced tetra-connectors

Abstract

Tessellation of nine polygons into a 3 × 3 array is accomplished by the self-assembly of specifically designed hexaruthenium macrocycles containing a tetrapod ligand. Differing from the hexagon-containing bipod ligand, more connections lead to a giant discrete stable higher-order assembly. The formed tessellated square array possesses three different kinds of pores and each pore contains different metal ions, including one central tetragonum (Zn₄), four corner hexagons (Ru₆), and four side irregular hexagons (Ru₂Zn₂), which provides a promising way to fabricate multichannel architectures.