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Updated: May 30, 2025

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Controlling pseudopolymorphism via robust and repetitive solvent-containing supramolecular interactions in urea-based
Ghazale Khorshidi1, Behrouz Notash1
1Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Shahid Beheshti University, 1983969411, Tehran, Iran. b_notash@sbu.ac.ir.
This study synthesized six pseudopolymorphic coordination polymers using a ditopic ligand and d10 metal cations. These compounds exhibit robust 3D isostructurality, with solvent molecules playing a key role in stabilizing their supramolecular architecture via hydrogen bonding.
Area of Science:
- Coordination Chemistry
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Coordination polymers offer tunable properties based on metal ions and organic ligands.
- Pseudopolymorphism, arising from solvent inclusion, significantly impacts crystal structures.
- Understanding intermolecular interactions is crucial for designing functional materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel pseudopolymorphic coordination polymers.
- To investigate the structural features and isostructurality of these compounds.
- To analyze the role of hydrogen bonding and solvent molecules in crystal packing.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of six coordination polymers with d10 metal cations (Zn, Cd, Hg) and 1,3-di(pyridin-4-yl)urea (4bpu) ligand.
- Characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), elemental analysis, FT-IR, TGA, and PXRD.
- Analysis of isostructurality using XPac 2.0.2 software, dissimilarity index, and stretching parameters.
Main Results:
- Obtained six isostructural 1D zig-zag chain coordination polymers with varying solvent molecules (MeOH or EtOH).
- Confirmed robust 3D isostructurality and analyzed geometric variations within the zig-zag chains.
- Identified hydrogen bonding (N-H⋯O, O-H⋯I, C-H⋯I) and urea-C=O⋯πpy interactions stabilizing the supramolecular assembly.
Conclusions:
- Solvent molecules are critical in controlling pseudopolymorphism and directing crystal assembly.
- The study provides quantitative insights into structural similarity and intermolecular interactions in coordination polymers.
- Findings facilitate the design of materials with tailored functionalities through control of hydrogen bonding.
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