Molecular Tectonics of Entangled Metal−Organic Frameworks Based on Different Conformational Carboxylates Mixed with a Flexible N,N′-Type Ligand

Abstract

On the basis of 1,4-bis(2-methyl-imidazol-1-yl)butane (bib), three new coordination polymers, namely, [Co(L1)(bib)]n (1), {[Co(L2)(bib)]·1.5H2O}n (2), and {[Co(L3)(bib)0.5]·H2O}n (3) (H2L1 = m-phthalic acid, H2L2 = glutaric acid, and H2L3 = 1,4-phenylenediacetic acid), have been synthesized and characterized. Polymer 1 features a three-dimensional (3D) 3-fold interpenetrating CdSO4 motif containing multiple interweaving helical chains. Compound 2 displays a 3D 3-fold interpenetrating 3-connected ThSi2 architecture with intriguing pseudo-Borromean links. Complex 3 shows a 3D 2-fold interpenetrating Pcu net. The results reveal that the dicarboxyl building blocks with different conformations play a significant role in promoting the diversity of the observed structural motifs. In addition, the magnetic property of 3 is also studied.