Loading Linear Arrays of Cu II Inside Aromatic Amide Helices

The very stable helices of 8‐amino‐2‐quinolinecarboxylic acid oligoamides are shown to uptake Cu II ions in their cavity through deprotonation of their amide functions with minimal alteration of their shape, unlike most metallo‐organic structures which generally differ from their organic precursors. The outcome is the formation of intramolecular linear arrays of a defined number of Cu II centers (up to sixteen in this study) at a 3 Å distance, forming a molecular mimic of a metal wire completely surrounded by an organic sheath. The helices pack in the solid state so that the arrays of Cu II extend intermolecularly. Conductive‐AFM and cyclic voltammetry suggest that electrons are transported throughout the metal‐loaded helices in contrast with hole transport observed for analogous foldamers devoid of metal ions.