Solid state conversion of a double helix thallium(i) coordination polymer to a corrugated tape silver(i) polymer

Abstract

We observed the solid state conversion of a nanostructured Tl^I coordination polymer with a double helix chain structure, prepared by a sonochemical procedure, to a nanostructured corrugated tape silver(I) polymer via the mechanochemical reaction of [Tl(μ₂-dcpa)]_n (1) [Hdcpa = 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid] with AgNO₃. The internal packing of these two compounds looked similar and low-energy structural changes allowed the conversion to occur smoothly. The transformation was irreversible as a result of the formation of stronger Ag–O bonds (in 2) compared with the initial Tl–O bonds (in 1). There are weak interaction planes in the crystal packing of 1, so the structure is not mechanically rigid, which allows Ag ions to penetrate the lattice and form stronger bonds.