A one-pot synthesis of chiral [4 + 6] tetrahedral cage compounds containing a salen fragment on each face is presented. The formation of the [4 + 6] products remains in contrast to the reaction of 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol with chiral diamines where [2 + 3] keto-enamine pseudocyclophanes are formed exclusively. The presence of OH groups determines the structural and spectroscopic properties of these cage compounds while a change in the reaction conditions facilitates the isolation of the microcrystalline products of the specific surface area varying from 5 to 578 m2 g−1.
