Metal- and ligand-dependent topologies and chirality in luminescent cadmium and zinc trans-aconitate coordination polymers with bis(pyridylmethyl)piperazine ligands

Abstract Zinc and cadmium coordination polymers containing both trans -aconitate (acon) and bis(pyridylmethyl)piperazine (bpmp) ligands show dramatically different dimensionalities and topologies depending on metal coordination environment and nitrogen donor atom disposition. {Zn(acon)(H4-bpmp)·9.5H 2 O} n ( 1 ) displays a chiral threefold interpenetrated diamondoid lattice along with “infinite” water molecule slabs. {[Cd(H 2 O)(acon)(H4-bpmp)]·3H 2 O} n ( 2 ) manifests a very rare 4-connected chiral layered net with 6 5 8 topology, formed by offset covalent linkage of anionic [Cd(H 2 O)(acon)] n n − chain motifs by long-spanning H4-bpmp + tethers. Use of an isomeric bis(pyridylmethyl)piperazine ligand with a kinked nitrogen donor disposition resulted in the achiral 1D coordination polymer solid {[Cd(acon)(H3-bpmp)]·3H 2 O} n ( 3 ), which possesses a supramolecular 3D 3,8-connected binodal network with (4.6 2 ) 4 (4 12 6 4 8 12 ) topology. Ultraviolet irradiation of 1 – 3 resulted in blue-violet light emission from molecular orbital transitions within the bpmp ligands.