Isoreticular two-dimensional magnetic coordination polymers prepared through pre-synthetic ligand functionalization.

Chemical functionalization is a powerful approach to tailor the physical and chemical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, increase their processability and stability, tune their functionalities and, even, create new 2D materials. This is typically achieved through post-synthetic functionalization by anchoring molecules on the surface of an exfoliated 2D crystal, but it inevitably alters the long-range structural order of the material. Here we present a pre-synthetic approach that allows the isolation of crystalline, robust and magnetic functionalized monolayers of coordination polymers. A series of five isostructural layered magnetic coordination polymers based on Fe(II) centres and different benzimidazole derivatives (bearing a Cl, H, CH3, Br or NH2 side group) were first prepared. On mechanical exfoliation, 2D materials are obtained that retain their long-range structural order and exhibit good mechanical and magnetic properties. This combination, together with the possibility to functionalize their surface at will, makes them good candidates to explore magnetism in the 2D limit and to fabricate mechanical resonators for selective gas sensing.

Snapshots of a solid-state transformation: coexistence of three phases trapped in one crystal.

Crystal-to-crystal transformations have been crucial in the understanding of solid-state processes, since these may be studied in detail by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) techniques. The description of the mechanisms and potential intermediates of those processes remains very challenging. In fact, solid-state transient states have rarely been observed, at least to a sufficient level of detail. We have investigated the process of guest extrusion from the non-porous molecular material [Fe(bpp)(H2L)](ClO4)2·1.5C3H6O (bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine; H2L = 2,6-bis(5-(2-methoxyphenyl)-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine; C3H6O = acetone), which occurs through ordered diffusion of acetone in a crystal-to-crystal manner, leading to dramatic structural changes. The slow kinetics of the transition allows thermal trapping of the system at various intermediate stages. The transiting single crystal can be then examined at these points through synchrotron SCXRD, offering a window upon the mechanism of the transformation at the molecular scale. These experiments have unveiled the development of an ordered intermediate phase, distinct from the initial and the final states, coexisting as the process advances with either of these two phases or, at a certain moment with both of them. The new intermediate phase has been structurally characterized in full detail by SCXRD, providing insights into the mechanism of this diffusion triggered solid-state phenomenon. The process has been also followed by calorimetry, optical microscopy, local Raman spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. The discovery and description of an intermediate ordered state in a molecular solid-state transformation is of great interest and will help to understand the mechanistic details and reaction pathways underlying these transformations.

A rare example of nickel(ii) chains based on a heteroscorpionate-like ligand with quadruple imidazolyl interactions.

The first nickel(ii) complex with the heteroscorpionate-like bridging ligand DIMMAL (2-di1H-2-imidazolylmethylmalonate), [Ni(DIMMAL)(H2O)3]n·3nH2O (1), is a one-dimensional coordination polymer whose structure shows regular Ni(ii) chains with H-bonding inter-chain interactions and a rare example of a Quadruple Imidazolyl Embrace (QIE). The Ni(ii) chain shows a weak antiferromagnetic interaction that can be modelled with a regular S = 1 chain model including a zero field splitting with g = 2.270, J = -1.5 cm(-1) and D = -2.26 cm(-1).