Linking [2]rotaxane wheels to create a new type of metal organic rotaxane frameworkElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Details of syntheses, crystallizations and X-ray solutions. CCDC 795067-795069. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c0cc04139d

Three new [2]rotaxanes with aromatic nitrogen donors appended to the crown ether wheel have been synthesized and used as ligands to coordinate Cd( ii ) ions. One of these yields a new type of 2-periodic, metal organic rotaxane framework in which the wheel rather than the axle is used to link the metal nodes. Metal organic rotaxane frameworks (MORFs) can be created by inverting the metal coordinating roles of the axle and wheel components. [2]Rotaxane ligands containing aromatic nitrogen donors appended to a crown ether wheel were used to coordinate Cd( ii ) ions to form a new type of 2-periodic network.