Two tripodal ligands, each derived from 1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)ethane and terminated respectively by 4-pyridyl (L1) and 2-pyridyl groups (L2), have been synthesised. Competitive seven-metal extraction studies (H2O/CHCl3) incorporating equal concentrations of cobalt(ii), nickel(ii), copper(ii), zinc(ii), silver(i), cadmium(ii), and lead(ii) in the aqueous phase and L1 or L2 in the organic phase showed selective extraction of silver(i) in each case. A parallel solvent extraction experiment involving a related tripodal tris-pyridyl ligand (L3) based on a 1,3,5-substituted aryl ring scaffold and incorporating thioether sulfurs in each tripod arm also showed extraction selectivity for silver(i); extraction efficiencies towards this metal ion fall in the order L3 > L1 > L2. Physical data are in accord with L1 forming a capsule-like complex of type [Ag3L12]3+ in which silver ions link pairs of pyridyl groups from different ligands. In contrast, L2 yields a complex of type [Ag2L2(NO)3]n whose X-ray structure showed it to be a two-dimensional coordination polymer in which the three pyridyl donors of each L2 coordinate to three silver(i) centres, two of which are crystallographically distinct, with the centres also bonded to bidentate and/or bridging bidentate nitrato groups.