Synergistic Self-Assembly of Oxoanions and d-Block Metal Ions with Heteroditopic Receptors into Triple-Stranded Helicates

Cooperativity effects among the interconnected anion and cation binding sites can profoundly alter the performance of heteroditopic receptors in selective ion pair recognition, processes that are oftentimes pertinent to biological systems and chemical separations. This work reports the effect of the linker that connects both binding sites on self-assembly of heteroditopic receptors in the presence of divalent first-row transition metal salts in solution and solid phase. Introduction of backbone flexibility in the receptor results in the formation of triple-stranded ion-pair helicates with an extraordinary selectivity towards CuSO4 through an anion-induced fit.