Modular synthesis of metal-organic complex arrays containing precisely designed metal sequences.

A modular synthetic approach is reported for the synthesis of heterometallic metal-organic complex arrays (MOCAs). Modules of four metal centers containing three different metals copper(II), nickel(II), platinum(II), or ruthenium(II) are prepared using a solid-phase polypeptide synthesis technique and then linked in solution to make MOCAs of eight metal centers as linear, T-branched, and H-branched compounds. The MOCA molecular topologies thus have specific unique linear and branched sequences of metals along the peptide backbone.