The characteristic of the crystal lattice of the hydrate of a nickel complex with a tetradentate amide-containing ligand is the presence of hexamers of the metal complex molecule, united by intermolecular hydrogen bonds which are retained during adsorption and desorption of polar molecules. The lattice of this material is characterized by a definite lability which arises during interaction with methanol.Porous crystalline materials based on metal complexes have attracted considerable attention in recent years [1][2][3][4]. Apart from a number of fundamental aspects, this is explained by the specific magnetic, optical, sorption, catalytic, and other properties of these materials [5], which makes them prospective materials for practical use. Publications which have appeared recently indicate the possibility of using these compounds for the absorption and storage of gases [6,7] including molecular hydrogen [7-9]. Despite the definite success achieved recently, the physico-chemical aspects of the adsorption of gases by substances with different chemical properties and the related structural-chemical conversions metal complex absorbents are far from being explained, in the first place because of the absence of sufficient quantitative experimental data.We have studied the properties of material based on a complex of nickel(II) with a tetradentate ligand containing two amine and two amide groups, NiL, by different methods of X-ray crystallographic analysis and weight absorption in order to study the interconnection between the structure of the crystal lattices and its stability during adsorption and desorption of molecules of different types.The free ligand H 2 L (5-benzyl-4,6-dioxo-1,9-diamino-3,7-diazanonane) was made by the reaction of diethyl benzylmalonate with ethylenediamine by a method analogous to one published previously [10]. The compound NiL·2H 2 O was obtained by the reaction of nickel(II) hydroxide with the ligand in aqueous ethanolic solution (elemental analysis, %: found -C 45.75, H 6.57, N 14.87; calculated for C 14 H 24 N 4 NiO 4 -C 45.32, H 6.52, N 15.10). Monocrystals suitable for X-ray crystal structure determination were obtained by slow diffusion of ether vapor into an ethanolic solution of the complex.
540040-5760/07/4301-0054