5-(6-Carboxypyridin-3-yl)isophthalic
acid (H3L) was
utilized as an almost unexplored multifunctional ligand to construct,
under hydrothermal conditions, ten new coordination compounds, namely,
[Cd(μ2
-H2L)2]
n
(1), [Ni(HL)(H2biim)2] (2), [Mn(μ2
-HL) (phen)(H2O)]2·2H2O (3), {[Mn3(μ4
-L)2(H2O)6]·3H2O}
n
(4), {[Co3(μ5
-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}
n
(5), {[Ni3(μ4
-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}
n
(6), {[Zn3(μ5
-L)2(H2O)4]·2H2O}
n
(7), {[Mn3(μ5
-L)2(H2O)6]·4H2O}
n
(8), {[Co3(μ4
-L)2(μ2-4,4′-bipy)(H2O)6]·2H2O}
n
(9), and {[Ni3(μ5
-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}
n
(10), also using
an optional auxiliary ligand selected from 2,2′-biimidazole
(H2biim), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), or 4,4′-bipyridine
(4,4′-bipy). The obtained compounds 1–10 were analyzed by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and
elemental analysis, and single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction.
The structures of the products vary from 3D MOFs (metal–organic
frameworks 5 and 7–10) to 2D CPs (coordination polymers 1, 4, and 6) as well as to a discrete 0D monomer 2 and a dimer 3. The latter two are extended by multiple
hydrogen bonds into complex 3D supramolecular networks. This structural
difference in 1–10 is directed by
the kind of metal(II) center, the deprotonation degree of the principal
H3L building block, and/or the kind of auxiliary ligand.
Notably, an addition of 4,4′-bipy can tune the structures of
MOFs 8–10 by the coordination or
template effect. Topological classification of metal–organic
and H-bonded underlying networks was performed, disclosing a variety
of topological nets: sql (in 1), 3,10T3 (in 3), 3,4L83 (in 4 and 6), tcs (in 5, 8, and 10), 3,4,5T95 (in 7), and sra (in 9), as well as a topologically unique
network in 2. The magnetic properties (for compounds 3–6, 8–10) and luminescent properties (for compounds 1, 7) were also investigated and discussed. In fact, compound 7 exhibits an intense violet emission in the solid state.
Measurements of the magnetic susceptibility indicate interactions
of an antiferromagnetic nature between the adjacent metal(II) centers
in the compounds 3–6 and 8–10. The obtained products represent the first
series of metal–organic compounds assembled from the H3L precursor, thus opening up its application as a new pyridine–tricarboxylate
organic block for designing CPs or MOFs.