Single-turn helix-coil strands stabilized by metal···metal and π-π interactions of the alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl moieties in meta-phenylene ethynylene foldamers.

Dinuclear alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complexes with oligomeric bridge consisting of five repeating meta-phenylene ethynylene (mPE) units have been found to exhibit a strong tendency to fold back onto themselves to form short helical strands through the stabilization of Pt···Pt and π-π interactions. The steric bulk of the terpyridine ligands and the length of the oligomeric bridge have been found to affect the extent of the intramolecular Pt···Pt interaction that governs the stabilization of the short helical strand in solution. Their folding properties via Pt···Pt and π-π stacking interactions have been studied by (1)H NMR, 2D ROESY NMR, electronic absorption, and emission spectroscopies.