The synthesis of a silver hexagon using a diiminoisoindoline-based ligand.

Diiminoisoindoline (DII) can be modified with primary amines to afford bis-substituted heterocycles. Although the metal binding chemistry of isoindoline-based macrocycles and chelates has been explored, the corresponding chemistry of hydrocarbon substituted diiminoisoindolines remains open. The reaction of the bis(benzylimino)isoindoline with AgNO 3 affords a Ag 6 cluster complexed by four equivalents of ligand. The cluster exhibits a previously unknown argentophilic geometry. The Ag 6 unit forms a compressed hexagon, comprised of two Ag 3 triangles that are linked together to form a parallelogram. The argentophilic interactions range from ~ 2.76 to ~ 3.17 Å. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]