Clathrochelate-based bipyridyl ligands of nanoscale dimensions: easy-to-access building blocks for supramolecular chemistryElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Synthetic procedures for all compounds 1-8, details of the molecular modeling of 3-6, single crystal X-ray diffraction data for 1, 2, 7 and 8, 1H and 13C NMR spectra of synthesized compounds including 1H NMR of a sample of 8 digested with acid, and TGA data for 8. CCDC reference numbers 899211-899213 and 919266. For ESI a

Boronic acid-capped clathrochelates were used to build rigid, linear bipyridyl ligands with adjustable lengths between 1.5 and 5.4 nm. The syntheses can be accomplished in one or two steps from simple starting materials. The potential of these ligands as building blocks for metallasupramolecular chemistry is unveiled through the preparation of a discrete metallamacrocyclic structure and a heterometallic coordination polymer. Rigid, linear bipyridyl ligands with lengths between 1.5 and 5.4 nm can be obtained in one or two steps from simple starting materials.