Control of the Microarchitecture of a Double Helix − Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of a Novel Dinickel(II) Helicate with Different Groove Sizes

Self-assembly of nickel ions and the N4 Schiff base H2PTs [H2PTs: N,N′-bis(2-tosylaminobenzylidene)-1,3-diaminopropane] in an electrochemical cell leads to the novel neutral double-stranded dinuclear helicate [NiPTs]2·CH3CN (1). Complex 1 was fully characterised by elemental analysis, IR and EPR spectroscopy, FAB mass spectrometry, and magnetic measurements. The single X-ray crystal structure of 1 shows that both ligands are asymmetrically positioned around the Ni−Ni axis, leading to a double-helical complex that presents a major and a minor groove.