Self-Assembly of Square Molecular Boxes Containing Dirhodium(II,II) Units

Dirhodium(II,II) based square molecular boxes were easily obtained by reaction of [Rh2(form)2(CF3COO)2(H2O)2] (form = N,N'-di-p- tolylformamidinate) with both linear (terephthalate and oxalate) and angular [5,10-diphenyl-15,20-bis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin] dicarboxylate dianions; liquid secondary ionization mass spectrometry (LSI MS) was used to establish the nuclearity of the new macrocycles. Their electrochemical properties were also investigated.