Single-crystal to single-crystal guest exchange and phase transformations in a porous metallocycle

Abstract

Single crystals of a previously reported porous metallocycle [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·2CH₃CN (1), where L is the ligand 1,4-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, were grown from acetonitrile and immersed in different organic solvents. The crystals thus treated were subjected to single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, which revealed that the acetonitrile guest molecules had been replaced by the solvent that the compound was exposed to, yielding five different solvates: [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·2(CH₃)₂CO (2), [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·2CHCl₃ (3), [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·C₆H₆ (4), [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·C₆H₄F₂ (5), [Ag₂L₂](BF₄)₂·C₇H₈ (6). Thermogravimetric analysis supports these findings.