Herein
we report the coordination chemistry and structural properties of
two multifunctional terdentate 2,2′-bipyridine derivatives
4- and 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2,2′-bipyridine-6-carboxylate, L1/L2, respectively. We report eight new coordination
complexes with CdII, CoII, and CoIII, and study their behavior in the crystalline phase with the view
of establishing L1 and L2 as robust and
functional chelators for use in extended metallosupramolecular systems.
The divalent complexes [Cd(L1)2]·H2O 1, [Cd(L2)2] 2, [Co(L1)2] 5, and [Co(L2)2] 7 are mononuclear complexes
with distorted octahedral coordination geometries dictated by the
two meridionally coordinated L1/L2 ligands.
Also reported are two trivalent byproducts [Co(L1)2]NO3
6 and [Co(L2)2]NO3
8 which were formed in trace
quantities during the initial screening of complexes 5 and 7, respectively. The extended structures of these
complexes are dominated by substantial intermolecular interactions,
including anion···π hole interactions. Modification
of the reaction conditions from 1 and 2 gives
two closely related trinuclear cluster species [Cd3(L1)3(NO3)2(DMF)4]NO3
3 and [Cd3(L2)3(NO3)2(DMF)4]NO3·DMF 4, in which three cadmium ions, with
pentagonal bipyramidal coordination geometries, form disc-shaped assemblies
with L1/L2, which undergo further weak interactions
between neighboring complexes in the crystalline state. With these
outcomes L1 and L2 are established as exciting
new building blocks for metallosupramolecular assemblies involving
d-block metal ions.