Abstract Copper (I)-induced assembly of two self-complementary identical units, which consist of a ring that incorporates a 1, 10-phenanthroline group attached to a small filament containing a second 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen) group, leads quantitatively to a doubly threaded complex. Each copper (I) center is four-coordinate and is located inside a ring and bound to a phen from the macrocyle. The two other coordination sites are occupied by a ...