Preorganized assembly of three iron(ii) or manganese(ii) -diketiminate complexes using a cyclophane ligandElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Full experimental procedures, spectroscopic data, cyclic voltammetry, and crystallographic data. CCDC 923619923621. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c3cc43395a

A trinucleating cyclophane bearing three -diketimine arms, and the corresponding iron( ii ) and manganese( ii ) complexes have been synthesized and characterized. The three metal ions are oriented towards the internal void space, and are coordinated by a N 2 Br 2 donor set, in which a unique combination of 3 , , and terminal coordination modes are observed for the halide donors. Metallation of a cyclophane designed to preorganize three -diketimine metal coordination sites leads to the corresponding triiron( ii ) and trimanganese( ii ) complexes, in which each halide donor adopts a distinct coordination mode.