Interlocked macrocyclic ligands - the catenands

Cyclic voltammetry shows the Cu(i)/Cu(0) couple to be highly reversible in dimethylformamide (DMF) even at very slow scan rates. Thus, dark blue solutions of the formally Cu(0) complex can be electrochemically 

Kinetic studies indicate that the dissociation of the Cu(i) complex of (114) in the presence of cyanide is several orders of magnitude slower than occurs for the corresponding complex of (115) because of the necessary unravelling of the two cycles before demetallation can occur (Albrecht-Gary, Saad, Dietrich-Buchecker Sauvage, 1985). 

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Dietrich-Buchecker, C. and Sauvage, J.P. (1990) Templated synthesis of interlocked macrocyclic ligands, the catenands. Preparation and characterization of the prototypical bis-30 membered ring system. Tetrahedron, 46,503-512. 

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