The hexadentate bispidine-based ligand 2,4-bis(2-pyridyl)-3,7-bis(2-methylenepyridine)-3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-9-on-1,5-bis(carbonic acid methyl ester), L
6m, with four pyridine and two tertiary amine donors, based on a veryrigid diazaadamantane-derived backbone, is coordinated to a range of metal ions. On the basis of experimentaland computed structural data, the ligand is predicted to form very stable complexes. Force field calculations indicatethat short metal-donor distances lead to a buildup of strain in the ligand; that is, the coordination of large metalions is preferred. This is confirmed by experimentally determined stability constants, which indicate that, in general,stabilities comparable to those with macrocyclic ligands are obtained with the relative order Cu
2+ > Zn
2+ ![](/images/entities/Gt.gif)
Ni
2+ <Co
2+, which is not the typical Irving-Williams behavior. The preference for large M-N distances also emerges fromrelatively high redox potentials (the higher oxidation states, that is, the smaller metal ions, are destabilized) andfrom relatively weak ligand fields (dd-transition, high-spin electronic ground states). The potentiometric titrationsconfirm the efficient encapsulation of the metal ions since only 1:1 complexes are observed, and, over a large pHrange, ML is generally the only species present in solution.