Exploring the Building Block Potential of Readily Accessible Chiral Zn(salen) Complexes

The synthesis and full characterization of a series of chiral Zn(salen) complexes comprising a 1,2-diphenyl-ethane backbone is reported. The preparation method here reported simplifies the previously communicated methodology for these types of Zn complexes that utilized air-sensitive ZnEt2 (or alike) as metalating reagent. X-ray molecular structures are also reported for representative examples of this family of Zn(salen)s. A wide range of functionality is shown to be accessible via the present route, amplifying the potential use of these (Lewis acidic) Zn complexes as molecular building blocks. Examples in this work include the formation of supramolecular assemblies having built-in bifunctionality using versatile ZnN and ZnO coordination motifs as guiding tools