Amphiphilic iron(II) and nickel(II) complexes based on alkylated diazaoxa- and triazacyclononane

It is known that including a metal into a micellar solution enhances both the colour and catalytic potential of such systems. This fact is well exemplified by the broad use of surfactant species as phase-transfer catalysts. In the present work, we report our studies concerning the aggregation properties of a series of iron and nickel-based triazacyclononane metalloamphiphiles. Upon multiple alkylation of the triazamacrocycle, we were able to obtain amphiphilic complexes that aggregate in toluene. We characterised the sizes and shapes of the aggregates by dynamic light scattering while their nature was assessed by atomic force microscopy.