Self-assembly molecular architectures with novel cyclic dimers

Highly emissive conjugated compounds containing pyridine (or pyrimidine) and cyano ligands have been synthesized by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. These ligands readily react with Re(CO)3(THF)2Br to form cyclic supramolecules by self-assembly processes. At room temperature these supramolecules are emissive, and the emission is ligand-localized, as evidenced from the Stokes shift and the lifetime data.