Syntheses of ligands containing two and three 2,2'-(bisamino)diphenyl ether units designed for molecular self-assembly on lithiation

The syntheses of polyamines containing two or three 2,2'-(bisamino)diphenyl ether units linked together, designed for self-assembly following lithiation, are reported. The X-ray crystal structures of two of the bis[2,2'-(bisamido)diphenyl ethers] are described. The ligand, which is linked by an ethylene glycol spacer, exhibits a coiled conformation constrained by intramolecular hydrogen bonds and supplemented by [CH-π] interactions. The ligand, which is linked by a more rigid bridge, containing a paraphenylene unit, displays a stretched conformation stabilised by intramolecular hydrogen bonds and intramolecular T-type aromatic-aromatic edge-to-face interactions.