Narcissistic self-sorting in anion-coordination-driven assemblies†
Abstract
Three tris-bis(urea) ligands with triphenylamine-based C3-symmetric spacers were synthesized, which assembled with sulfate or phosphate to form anionic A3L2 pinwheel helices (A = anion and L = ligand) and A4L4 tetrahedra, respectively. Interestingly, narcissistic self-sorting was observed in both structures from the mixture of the ligands, wherein each assembly contains only one type of ligand with no detectable mixed-ligand product as confirmed by the NMR and MS studies.