Gradual increase in the dimensionality of cobalt and mercury coordination networks based on conformation of tetradentate tectons

Abstract

Neutral tetrakis-monodentate tectons 1 and 2, based on the pentaerythritol skeleton and bearing four nicotinoyl or isonicotinoyl groups respectively as coordination sites, have been prepared and their ability to generate coordination networks was studied in the presence of HgCl2 or CoCl2 behaving as metallatectons offering either a “V” or a square type geometry respectively. Whereas in the case of the tecton 1 offering four coordination sites in the same plane (square type geometry) a 1-D coordination network was observed in the presence of neutral HgCl2, in the presence of CoCl2 metallatecton presenting four available coordination sites occupying the corners of a square, a 2-D neutral coordination network was obtained. For tecton 2, possessing also four coordinating sites but occupying the apices of a pseudo tetrahedron, a 2-D network was obtained with HgCl2, whereas in the presence of CoCl2 a 3-D network was observed. In the latter case, a two-fold homo interpenetrating architecture was observed.