Molecular recognition of star-burst tetranuclear Ru(iii) complexes on a chirally modified clay surfaceElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Mass Spectra, 1H NMR spectra, the details of X-ray analyses, and the calculated CD spectra. CCDC 771865. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c0cc00685h

Star-burst tetranuclear Ru( iii ) complexes, Δ-(or Λ-)[{Δ-(or Λ-)-Ru( iii )(acac) 2 (taet)} 3 Ru( iii )] (acac = acetylacetonato; taet = tetraacetylethanato), were prepared and resolved into eight enantiomers on a column packed with an ion-exchange adduct of a clay and Δ-[Ru( ii )(phen) 3 ] 2+ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), demonstrating that the dual chiralities of the central and peripheral regions were discriminated on the modified clay surface. We report the chiral recognition of eight diastereomers of tetranuclear metal complexes on the surface of chiral ruthenium complex-ion-exchanged synthetic hectorite.