Multinuclear metal-binding ability of a carotene

Carotenes are naturally abundant unsaturated hydrocarbon pigments, and their fascinating physical and chemical properties have been studied intensively not only for better understanding of the roles in biological processes but also for the use in artificial chemical systems. However, their metal-binding ability has been virtually unexplored. Here we report that β-carotene has the ability to assemble and align ten metal atoms to afford decanuclear homo- and heterometal chain complexes. The metallo-carotenoid framework shows reversible metalation-demetalation reactivity with multiple metals, which allows us to control the size of metal chains as well as the heterobimetallic composition and arrangement of the carotene-supported metal chains.