Shackling Effect Induced Property Differences in Metallo-Supramolecular Polymers.

We demonstrate here the synthesis of a novel class of metallo-supramolecular polymers with shackled structure, via the coordination of cyclic di(bis-terpyridine-triphenyl ether ester) ligands with ruthenium(II) ions. The constraint from the ring topology via the shackling of ligands provides novel properties to these metallo-supramolecular polymers, including the formation of dendritic crystals, red-shift of absorption bands in the UV-vis spectra from interchain charge-transfer transitions, and a typical flash-type memory behavior.