Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026
From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Structure of copper(II) complexes grown from ionic liquids - 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate or chloride
Nikita Yu Serov1, Valery G Shtyrlin1, Daut R Islamov1
1Department of Chemistry, Kazan State University, Kremlevskaya St. 18, 420008, Kazan, Russian Federation.
Abstract:
Crystals of four new copper(II) complexes have been grown from copper(II) acetate/chloride-1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate/chloride-water systems and characterized by X-ray analysis. The first complex, bis-(1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium) tetra-μ-acetato-bis[chloridocuprate(II)], [Emim]2[Cu2(C2H3O2)4Cl2] (1) (Emim is 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium, C6H11N2), contains [Cu2(C2H3O2)4Cl2]2- coordination anions with a paddle-wheel structure and ionic liquid cations. Two of the synthesized complexes are one-dimensional polymers, namely catena-poly[1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium [[tetra-μ-acetato-dicuprate(II)]-μ-chlorido] monohydrate], {[Emim][Cu2(C2H3O2)4Cl]·H2O} (2), and catena-poly[1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium [[tetra-μ-acetato-dicuprate(II)]-μ-acetato]], {[Emim][Cu2(C2H3O2)5]} (3). In these compounds, the Cu2(C2H3O2)4 units with a paddle-wheel structure are connected to each other through chloride (in 2) or acetate (in 3) anions to form parallel chains, between which cations of ionic liquid are situated. The last compound, bis-(1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium) tetra-μ-acetato-bis[aquacopper(II)] tetra-μ-acetato-bis[acetatocuprate(II)] dihydrate, [Emim]2[Cu2(C2H3O2)4(H2O)2][Cu2(C2H3O2)6]·2H2O (4), contains two different binuclear coordination units (neutral and anionic), connected through hydrogen bonds between water mol-ecules and acetate ions.
Related Concept Videos
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
02:55Solubility of Ionic Compounds
00:42Ionic Bonds
When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
Opposing Charges Hold Ions Together in Ionic Compounds
Ionic bonds are reversible electrostatic interactions between ions...
02:54Molecular and Ionic Solids
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
02:48Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer
03:10Ionic Radii