Photochemical [2 + 2] polymerization of metal–organic gels of a rigid and angular diene with silver-salts of diverse anions: selective dye-sorption and luminescence by xerogels

Abstract

Two similar types of dienes, one rigid and the other flexible, were explored for their gel formation abilities with Ag(I) salts. The rigid and angular dienes have shown an exceptional ability for gel formation with silver salts of nitrate, triflate, tetrafluoro borate and hexafluorophosphate. These metal–organic gels (MOGs) and their xerogels are found to have an excellent ability to undergo the photochemical [2 + 2] polymerization reaction upon irradiation. The reactions were monitored, and the products were characterized via¹H NMR and MALDI-TOF analyses. Further, the solid-state luminescence behaviour and the selective dye-sorption of the gels have been explored before and after the photo-polymerization reaction.