The bis-salphen Zn(II) unit : a versatile building block for self-assembled heteroleptic coordination cages

Title data

Donaggio, Leonardo ; Schweimer, Kristian ; Heinemann, Frank W. ; Hennig, Janosch ; Kurz, Hannah:
The bis-salphen Zn(II) unit : a versatile building block for self-assembled heteroleptic coordination cages.
In: Nanoscale. Vol. 18 (2026) . - pp. 7002-7009.
ISSN 2040-3372
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NR04564A

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

Heteroleptic coordination cages enable not only a high control over the cavity properties but also multifunctionality. However, their synthesis is far from trivial and often relies on precious 4d and 5d transition metals such as Pd(ii). The transfer to more cost-effective, earth abundant metal ions such as Zn(ii) is highly desirable for increasing their application potential in real-life scenarios. In this work, we report on a self-assembly strategy employing the ditopic Zn(ii) bis-salphen unit Zn2L in combination with tritopic pyridyl-based ligands to construct novel prismatic cages. As a proof of concept, two distinct cages are presented, utilizing either a phenyl- or triazine-based tritopic ligand (cage 1 and cage 2, respectively). Both cages exhibit remarkable stability at low concentrations while displaying dynamic behaviour at high concentrations. Investigation of their photophysical properties reveals a striking “on–off” emission behaviour: the phenyl-based cage 1 features a significant orange emission (Φ = 6), while cage 2 is non-emissive. This emission quenching can be attributed to the electron-withdrawing nature of the triazine ligand, which dominates the electronic relaxation pathway of the Zn2L unit. Although both cages successfully bind aromatic guests in host–guest studies, their encapsulation results in partial cage decomposition, which prevents further investigation of whether cage 1 qualifies as an optical sensor material. However, the findings herein introduce a versatile route to emissive bis-salphen coordination cages, marking a significant step towards developing new heteroleptic zinc(ii) cages for optical sensing.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry > Chair Biochemistry IV - Biophysical Chemistry > Chair Biochemistry IV - Biophysical Chemistry - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry > Junior Professor Inorganic Chemistry IV > Junior Professor Inorganic Chemistry IV - Juniorprof. Dr. Hannah Kurz Research Institutions > Central research institutes > Nordbayerisches Zentrum für NMR-Spektroskopie - NMR-Zentrum
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	500 Science > 540 Chemistry
Date Deposited:	09 Apr 2026 07:15
Last Modified:	09 Apr 2026 07:15
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/96751