Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Self-assembled copper(II) coordination polymers derived from aminopolyalcohols and benzenepolycarboxylates:
Alexander M Kirillov1, Yauhen Y Karabach, Matti Haukka
1Centro de Química Estrutural, Complexo I, Instituto Superior Técnico, TU Lisbon, Av Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
Abstract:
The new copper(II) or copper(II)/sodium(I) 1D coordination polymers [Cu2(Hmdea)2(mu-H2O)(mu2-tpa)]n.2nH2O (1), [Cu2(H2tipa)2(mu2-ipa)]n.4nH2O (2), [Cu2(H2tea)2Na(H2O)2(mu2-tma)]n.6nH2O (3), [Cu2(H2tea)2(mu2-ipa)]n.nH2O (4a), and [Cu2(H2tea)2{mu3-Na(H2O)3}(mu3-ipa)]n(NO3)n.0.5nH2O (4b) have been prepared in aqueous medium by self-assembly from copper(II) nitrate, aminopolyalcohols [methyldiethanolamine (H2mdea), triisopropanolamine (H3tipa), and triethanolamine (H3tea)] as main chelating ligands and benzenepolycarboxylic acids [terephthalic (H2tpa), isophthalic (H2ipa), and trimesic (H3tma) acid] as spacers. They have been characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, the latter indicating the formation of unusual multinuclear metal cores interconnected by various benzenepolycarboxylate spacers, leading to distinct wavelike, zigzag, or linear 1D polymeric metal-organic chains. These are further extended to 2D or 3D hydrogen-bonded supramolecular networks via extensive interactions with the intercalated crystallization water molecules. The latter are associated, also with aqua ligands, by hydrogen bonds resulting in acyclic (H2O)3 clusters in 1, (H2O)8 clusters in 2, infinite 1D water chains in 3, and disordered water-nitrate associates in 4b, all playing a key role in the structure stabilization and its extension to further dimensions. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements have shown that 1-4 exhibit a moderately strong ferromagnetic coupling through the alkoxo bridge. The small Cu-O-Cu bridging angle and the large out-of-plane displacement of the carbon atom of the alkoxo group accounts for this behavior. The magnetic data have been analyzed by means of a dinuclear and a 1D chain model, and the magnetic parameters have been determined. The magnetic exchange coupling in 3, to our knowledge, is the highest found in alkoxo-bridged copper(II) complexes.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...
Valence Bond Theory
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Properties of Organometallic Compounds

