A Poly(bicyclic dimer) and a Cyclic Tetramer: Ligand Isomerism of S₂O₂ Macrocycles During the Assembly of Supramolecular Silver(I) Complexes

Two isomeric S 2 O 2 macrocycles ( L 1 and L 2 ) with a 14‐membered cavity have been synthesised as a model system with different binding modes. Self‐assembly reactions of L 1 and L 2 with silver perchlorate afford the respective ligand‐directed cyclic oligomer complexes with different shapes: a poly(bicyclic dimer) ( 1 ) and a discrete cyclic tetramer ( 2 ). The formation of these supramolecular complexes is discussed in terms of conformational discrimination of two isomeric macrocycles due to ring rigidity and interdonor distances.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)