The design and synthesis of polymeric coordination compounds of 3d transition metals are of great interest in the search for functional materials. The coordination chemistry of the copper(II) ion is of interest currently due to potential applications in the areas of molecular biology and magnetochemistry. A novel coordination polymer of Cu(II) with bridging N,N'-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diamine (H2L-DM) and dicyanamide (dca) ligands, catena-poly[[[μ2-2,2-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(2-oxidobenzylidene)propane-1,3-diamine-1:2κ(6)O,N,N',O':O,O']dicopper(II)]-di-μ-dicyanamido-1:2'κ(2)N(1):N(5);2:1'κ(2)N(1):N(5)], [Cu2(C19H20N2O2)(C2N3)2]n, has been synthesized and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. Structural studies show that the Cu(II) centres in the dimeric asymmetric unit adopt distorted square-pyramidal geometries, as confirmed by the Addison parameter (τ) values. The chelating characteristics of the L-DM(2-) ligand results in the formation of a Cu(II) dimer with a double phenolate bridge in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal, the dimeric units are further linked to adjacent dimeric units through μ1,5-dca bridges to produce one-dimensional polymeric chains.

Schiff bases are considered `versatile ligands' in coordination chemistry. The design of polynuclear complexes has become of interest due to their facile preparations and varied synthetic, structural and magnetic properties. The reaction of the `ligand complex' [CuL] {H2L is 2,2'-[propane-1,3-diylbis(nitrilomethanylylidene)]diphenol} with Ni(OAc)2·4H2O (OAc is acetate) in the presence of dicyanamide (dca) leads to the formation of bis(dicyanamido-1κN(1))bis(dimethyl sulfoxide)-2κO,3κO-bis{μ-2,2'-[propane-1,3-diylbis(nitrilomethanylylidene)]diphenolato}-1:2κ(6)O,O':O,N,N',O';1:3κ(6)O,O':O,N,N',O'-dicopper(II)nickel(II), [Cu2Ni(C17H16N2O2)2(C2N3)2(C2H6OS)2]. The complex shows strong absorption bands in the frequency region 2155-2269 cm(-1), which clearly proves the presence of terminal bonding dca groups. A single-crystal X-ray study revealed that two [CuL] units coordinate to an Ni(II) atom through the phenolate O atoms, with double phenolate bridges between Cu(II) and Ni(II) atoms. Two terminal dca groups complete the distorted octahedral geometry around the central Ni(II) atom. According to differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA), the title complex is stable up to 423 K and thermal decomposition starts with the release of two coordinated dimethyl sulfoxide molecules. Free H2L exhibits photoluminescence properties originating from intraligand (π-π*) transitions and fluorescence quenching is observed on complexation of H2L with Cu(II).