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The reaction of the rigid spacer 4,4'-bipyrazole (H(2)BPZ) with late transition metals, either following conventional routes or under solvothermal conditions, afforded the coordination polymers [M(BPZ)]·Solv (M = Zn, 1; Co, 2; Cd, 3; Hg, 4; Cu, 5; Ni, 6; Pd, 7; Solv = DMF, 3; MeCN, 5 and 6; H(2)O, 7), [Cu(H(2)BPZ)(2)(NO(3))(2)] (8), and [Cd(H(2)BPZ)(CH(3)COO)(2)] (9). State-of-the-art laboratory powder diffraction methods allowed to disclose the isomorphous character of 1 and 2, as well as of 5 and 6, which feature 3D porous networks containing 1D channels of square and rhombic shape, respectively. 3, crystallizing in the relatively rare P6(1)22 space group, consists of homochiral helices of octahedral Cd(II) ions, packing in bundles mutually linked by "radial", nonplanar BPZ ligands. Finally, the dense species 8 and 9 contain parallel 2D layers of square and rectangular meshes, respectively. Thermogravimetric analyses witnessed the relevant thermal robustness of all the [M(BPZ)] materials [except the mercury(II) derivative], which are stable in air at least up to 300 °C, with the zinc(II) derivative decomposing only around 450 °C. Variable-temperature powder diffraction experiments highlighted the permanent porosity of 1-3, 5, and 6, retained along consecutive temperature cycles in all cases but 3. When probed with N(2) at 77 K, 1-3 and 5-7 showed Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Langmuir specific surface areas in the ranges 314(2)-993(11) and 509(16)-1105(1) m(2)/g, respectively.

A number of adducts of copper(I) thiocyanate with bulky tertiary phosphine ligands, and some nitrogen-base solvates, were synthesized and structurally and spectroscopically characterised. CuSCN:PCy3 (1:2), as crystallized from pyridine, is shown by a single crystal X-ray study to be a one-dimensional polymer ...(Cy3P)2CuSCN(Cy3P)2CuSCN... (1) with the four-coordinate copper atoms linked end-on by S-SCN-N bridging thiocyanate groups. A second form (2), obtained from acetonitrile, was also identified and shown by IR and 31P CPMAS NMR spectroscopy to be mononuclear, with the magnitude of the dν(Cu) parameter measured from the 31P CPMAS and the ν(CN) value from the IR clearly establishing this compound as three-coordinate [(Cy3P)2CuNCS]. Two further CuSCN/PCy3 compounds CuSCN:PCy3 (1:1) (3), and CuSCN:PCy3:py (1:1:1) (4) were also characterized spectroscopically, with the dν(Cu) parameters indicating three- and four-coordinate copper sites, respectively. Attempts to obtain a 1:2 adduct with tri-t-butylphosphine have yielded, from pyridine, the 1:1 adduct as a dimer [(Bu(t)3P)((SCN)(NCS))Cu(PBu(t)3)] (5), while similar attempts with tri-o-tolylphosphine (from acetonitrile and pyridine (= L)) resulted in solvated 1:1:1 CuSCN:P(o-tol)3:L forms as dimeric [{(o-tol)3P}LCu((SCN)(NCS))CuL{P(o-tol)3}] (6 and 8). The solvent-free 1:1 CuSCN:P(o-tol)3 adduct (7), obtained by desolvation of 6, was characterized spectroscopically and dν(Cu) measurements from the 31P CPMAS NMR data are consistent with the decrease in coordination number of the copper atom from four (for 6) (P,N(MeCN)Cu,S,N) to three (for 7) (PCuS,N) upon loss of the acetonitrile of solvation. These results are compared with those previously reported for mononuclear and binuclear PPh3 adducts which demonstrate a clear tendency for the copper centre to remain four-coordinate. The IR spectroscopic measurements on these compounds show that bands in the far-IR spectra provide a much more definitive criterion for distinguishing between bridging and terminal bonding than does an often-used empirical rule based on ν(CN) in the mid-IR, which leads to the wrong conclusion in some cases.

Coupling the rigid spacer 4,4'-bipyrazole (H(2)BPZ), in its anionic or neutral form, to different silver(I) salts allowed isolation of the novel coordination polymers [Ag(2)(BPZ)] (1) and [Ag(H(2)BPZ)(X)] (X = NO(3), 2; ClO(4), 3; BF(4), 4; PF(6), 5; CH(3)SO(3), 6; CF(3)SO(3), 7), which were fully characterized by infrared and emission spectroscopies, thermal analysis, and X-ray powder diffraction. The crystal structure of 1 consists of 2-D layers containing 1-D chains of Ag(I) ions bridged by exo-tetradentate bipyrazolato moieties. The crystal structures of the [Ag(H(2)BPZ)(X)] species 2-7 feature 1-D chains of [Ag(H(2)BPZ)] stoichiometry, along which the metal centers are bridged by exo-bidentate bipyrazolyl spacers. Contacts among adjacent chains are mediated by the counterions through nonbonding interactions involving the Ag(I) ions and the pyrazolyl N-H groups. Thermogravimetric analyses disclosed the good thermal stability of these materials, decomposing in the range 200-300 °C. Under UV irradiation at room temperature, all the species showed a yellow-green emission centered in the range 520-522 nm. When embedded into polyethylene disks, 1, 2, and 4-7 demonstrated their activity as topical antibacterial agents against suspensions of E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus: complete reduction of the three bacterial strains was achieved in 24 h, reduction of S. aureus reaching ca. 90% in only 2 h. Biocidal action was expressed also by contact susceptibility tests.

Copper(I) thiocyanate derivatives were prepared by the reaction of CuNCS with pyridine (py) and tertiary monophosphine ligands [PR3 in general; in detail: PPh3, triphenylphosphine, P(4‐FPh)3, tris(4‐fluorophenyl)phosphine)], as well as the potentially bidentate ligand diphenyl(2‐pyridyl)phosphine (PPh2py). Mechanochemical methods were used in some cases to investigate stoichieometries that were not easily accessible by conventional solution syntheses. Three forms of the resulting adducts of CuNCS/PR3/py‐base (1:3–n:n) stoichiometry―all containing four‐coordinate copper(I) atoms and monodentate N‐thiocyanate groups―were confirmed crystallographically. Mononuclear arrays are defined for [(PPh2py)3–n(py)nCuNCS], n = 0, 1, 2, the monodentate thiocyanate being N‐coordinated in all; two polymorphs are observed for the n = 2 complex, both crystallizing in monoclinic P21 (Z = 2) cells with similar cell dimensions, but with aromatic components eclipsed about the Cu–P bond in the PPh3 complex, and staggered in the PPh2py complex. Bridging thiocyanate groups are found in the 1:1:1 CuNCS/PPh2py/2‐methylpyridine (mpy) and P(4‐FPh)3/mpy complexes, wherein centrosymmetric dimers with eight‐membered central rings are obtained: [(R3P)(mpy)Cu(NCS)2Cu(PR3)(mpy)], as is also the case in the parent 1:2 CuNCS/PPh2py adduct [(pyPh2P)2Cu(NCS)2Cu(PPh2py)2]. For the 1:1:1 CuNCS/P(4‐FPh)3/py and PPh3/Brmpy (Brmpy = 3‐bromo‐4‐methylpyridine) adducts, and, likely, CuNCS/PPh2py/py (1:1:1), single‐stranded polymers of the form [···Cu(NCS)(PR3)(py‐base)(Cu)···](∞|∞) with linearly bridging NCS ligands were obtained. Some derivatives, representative of all forms, display medium to strong green to blue luminescence when excited with radiation at 365 nm. The 31P CPMAS NMR spectroscopic data clearly differentiate the inequivalent phosphorus positions within each system, showing a wide range of 1J(31P,63/65Cu) values ranging from 965 Hz for [Cu(NCS)(PPh2py)3] to 1540 Hz for dimeric [(4‐FPh)3P(mpy)Cu(NCS)2Cu(P(4‐FPh)3)(mpy)], reflecting the large variations in the Cu–P bond length.

The solvothermal reaction between the rigid spacer 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl-4,4′-bipyrazole (H2Me4BPZ) and a number of transition metal salts promoted the formation of the coordination polymers [M(Me4BPZ)] (M = Zn, 1; Co, 2; Cd, 3; Cu, 4). Ab initio X-ray powder diffraction analyses revealed the main structural aspects of the four materials. 1 and 2 are representative examples of the so-called isoreticular strategy: isostructural to [M(BPZ)] and [M(BDP)] (H2BPZ = 4,4′-bipyrazole; H2BDP = 1,4-bis(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)benzene), they feature three-dimensional (3-D) porous networks containing square-shaped channels. In 3, tetrahedral Cd(II) ions are arranged within homochiral helices reciprocally linked by radial Me4BPZ spacers, overall creating a 3-D nonporous network. Finally, the 3-D porous framework of 4 comprises square Cu4 nodes linked to eight neighboring ones by the bridging spacers. Thermogravimetric analyses, coupled to variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction, demonstrated the remarkable thermal robustness of all the materials, decomposing above 300 °C, and their stability for consecutive heating–cooling cycles. N2 and CO2 adsorption measurements at 77 and 273 K, respectively, were employed to probe the permanent porosity of the materials and to give a coherent picture of their textural properties including specific surface areas, micro- and mesopore volumes, as well as size distributions.

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Solvothermal reactions of the flexible, pyrazole-based 1,4-bis((3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methyl)benzene ligand (H(2)BDMPX) with late transition metal ions allowed the isolation of the four coordination compounds M(x)(BDMPX) (x = 1 for M = Zn, 1; Co, 2; Cd, 3; x = 2 for M = Cu, 4). The investigation of the thermal behavior assessed the high thermal robustness of these materials, which are stable in air at least up to 300 °C, with the Cd(II) derivative starting to decompose only around 500 °C. As retrieved by ab initio X-ray powder diffraction, the isomorphous compounds 1-3 possess a dense 3-D network featuring rhombic motifs hinged about rigid and parallel chains of tetrahedral MN(4) chromophores. As demonstrated by thermodiffractometric measurements, temperature increase triggers framework flexibility. The latter is at work also when N(2) adsorption is assayed at 77 K: 1 and 2 show permanent porosity, with BET and Langmuir specific surface areas of 515, 667 m(2)/g and 209, 384 m(2)/g, respectively. 1 and 2 thus represent an intriguing example of "porosity without pores", their pro-porous nature being explained in terms of the flexibility of the rhombic motifs, stimulated by the gas probe and facilitated by the nature of the ligand.