Acid-functionalized dissymmetric salen ligands and their manganese(III) complexes

Acid-functionalized symmetric and dissymmetric salen-type ligands were synthesized via a novel self-protection step in a quantitative yield. This synthetic method allows one to quickly prepare salen-based dissymmetric chiral compounds with tailorable coordinating properties. Therefore, this approach provides a blueprint for synthesizing and evaluating a new class of acid-functionalized salen ligands that can be used as chiral building blocks for a wide range of catalysts and coordination polymers with chemically tailorable properties.