Molecular tectonics: design of coordinating tectons based on fluorene bearing pyridines and structural analysis of their coordination networks generated in the presence of mercury and cobalt salts

A series of six new bis-monodentate tectons based on the fluorene skeleton and bearing two pyridine derivatives as coordinating sites have been designed and prepared. The ability of two of them presenting a "V" type geometry to generate coordination networks in the presence of HgCl2 or CoCl2 acting as metallatectons and offering either a "V" or a square type geometry respectively was structurally studied by X-ray diffraction on single crystals. Whereas a combination of "V" shaped organic and metallic tectons leads to a 1-D coordination network, when combining a "V" shaped organic tecton with a metallatecton presenting four available coordination sites occupying the corners of a square, a 2-D neutral coordination network was obtained. In the latter case, a two-fold homo interpenetrating architecture was obtained.