Assembly and photocatalysis of three novel metal–organic frameworks tuned by metal polymeric motifs

Abstract

By using a thiodiacetate, phenanthroline, and tuning the metal salts in the reaction system, three new metal–organic coordination complexes, {[Co(MOPIP)2(tda)]·H2O}1∕2 (1), [Cd(MOPIP)2(tda)]2·3H2O (2), and [Cu5I4(MOPIP)3·H2O]n (3) (, thiodiacetate; MOPIp = 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1, 10]phenanthroline), have been prepared through hydrothermal reactions. In 1 and 2, the metal (Co2+/Cd2+) centers are connected by tda to form a mononuclear molecule, which connect to a two-dimensional (2-D) layer by N–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. By selecting the copper iodide salt we get 3, where the Cu+ center exhibits three different coordination types, which has never been seen before in the same compound, and linked by iodide and MOPIP to construct a new 3-D framework. Compound 3 represents the first example of MOPIP showing a new coordination mode with four nitrogens all coordinated. The metal salts play an important role in assembly of the structures of 1–3. Introduction of MOPIP shows significant effect on the dimensionalities of complexes. The fluorescence and catalytic properties of 1 and 3 have also been investigated.