Coordination Chemistry of the Ditopic Ligand 4‐[6‐(2‐Pyridyl)‐2‐pyridyl]‐6‐(2‐pyridyl)pyrimidine: Encapsulation of Nitrate by [2 × 2]Grid Complexes

We describe herein the synthesis, physical properties and crystal structures of metal complexes with the new ligand 6‐(2‐pyridyl)‐4‐[6‐(2‐pyridyl)‐2‐pyridyl]pyrimidine ( L ). Reactions of L with Ni II , Co II , Fe II , Zn II and Cu II nitrates in a 1:1 ratio leads to the self‐assembled tetranuclear [2 × 2] grid complexes 1 – 5 with encapsulated NO 3 – ions, as confirmed by the X‐ray crystal structures of [Ni 4 L 4 (DMSO) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ](NO 3 )(ClO 4 ) 7 ·4 DMSO·6 H 2 O ( 1 ) and [Co 4 L 4 (DMF) 4 ](NO 3 )(ClO 4 ) 7 ( 2 ). The mononuclear copper( I ) complex [Cu L (PPh 3 ) 2 ]‐ClO 4 ·2 (CH 3 CN) ( 6 ) and the binuclear [Cu 2 L 2 (CN)(PPh 3 ) 2 ]‐ClO 4 ( 7 ) were synthesized from L and [Cu(PPh 3 ) 3 ]Cl. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005)