Is a crystal engineering approach useful in designing metallogels? A case study

Abstract

A crystal engineering based design strategy for metallogels has been demonstrated in a series of mixed ligand based Cu_II/Co_II coordination polymers derived from two bis-pyridyl-bis-amide ligands namely N,N′-bis-(3-pyridyl)isophthalamide (L1) and N,N′-bis-(3-pyridyl)terephthalamide (L2) and various dicarboxylates. These mixed ligand coordination polymers are shown to form gels as well as X-ray quality crystals under different conditions. The crystal structures of the gel fibers in the xerogels have been determined by using powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The results support the proof of the concept based on which the metallogels are designed.