Unprecedented trinodal 4-connected metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with 2-fold interpenetration

Abstract

Via hydrothermal synthesis, the self-assembly of Co(SCN)₂ with the mixed rigid and flexible N,N′-bidentate donors, 4,4′-bpy and bimb (4,4′-bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine, bimb = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-butane), generated a novel complex: [Co(bimb)(4,4′-bpy)(SCN)₂] (1), which is the first example of an extended coordination polymer incorporating these mixed neutral N,N′-bidentate ligands. The structure contains (4,4) 2D [Co₄(4,4′-bpy)₂(bimb)₄] layers further pillared by 4,4′-bpy ligands to form an unusual 3D framework that can be classified as a 4-connected (6⁴·8²)(6³·8³)₂(6⁵·8) net based on three kinds of planar Co nodes. Two of these nets interpenetrate.