Structural and luminescent properties of a series of Cd(II) pyridyl benzimidazole complexes that exhibit extended three-dimensional hydrogen bonded networks

Abstract

Five new coordination complexes, [CdI₂(3-PyBim)](H₂O)₃ (1), [Cd(SO₄)(3-PyBim)(H₂O)₄] (2), [CdCl₂(4-PyBim)₂(H₂O)₂] (3), [CdBr₂(4-PyBim)₂(H₂O)₂] (4) and [CdI₂(4-PyBim)₂(H₂O)₂] (5) [3-PyBim=2-Pyridin-3-yl-1H-benzoimidazole, 4-PyBim=2-Pyridin-4-yl-1H-benzoimidazole], were obtained under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR, elemental analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction. All of the complexes have mononuclear structures. Among the crystal structures of these complexes, there exist a variety of intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions and π⋯π interactions, which further extend to a 3-D supramolecular architecture. The solid state photoluminescent properties of 1–5 vary with the electronegativity of the coordination anion. Additionally, the thermogravimetric analyses of these complexes are discussed.

Keywords:

• Metal coordination complexes
• N-heterocyclic ligand
• self-assembly
• tunable luminescence
• cadmium
• anions

Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Min Liu, Ms Nan-Nan Sun, and Mr Dan Liu for helping with experiments. We also thank the reviewers for giving many constructive comments.