Pyrrole-2-carboxylate dimer: a robust supramolecular synthon for crystal engineering

Two pyrrole-2-carboxylates, tris[2-(2-pyrryl-carboxy)ethyl]amine (1) and tetrakis(2-pyrryl-carboxy-methyl)methane (2), were prepared by the treatment of 2-trichloroacetylpyrrole with tri(2-hydroxylethyl)amine and pentaerythritol, respectively. Hexagonal and grid supramolecular structures were obtained from the self-assembly of 1 and 2, respectively. From the assembly structure, a novel supramolecular synthon of the pyrrole-2-carbonyl dimer has been found. The synthon was demonstrated to be robust by our density functional calculation. It is expected to be useful in the self-assembly of crystal engineering.