The three diverging ligands, 1 DBF , 27 1 Ph , 28 and 1 Th29 have been previously reported. Four novel converging ligands with isoquinoline coordinating units, namely 2 DBF , 2 Py , 2 Ph and 2 Th , were prepared using standard synthetic procedures (ESI section S2) and their identities confirmed by NMR and highresolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS).