Copper(II) carboxylate dimers prepared from ligands designed to form a robust π···π stacking synthon: supramolecular structures and molecular properties.

The reactions of bifunctional carboxylate ligands (1,8-naphthalimido)propanoate, (L(C2)(-)), (1,8-naphthalimido)ethanoate, (L(C1)(-)), and (1,8-naphthalimido)benzoate, (L(C4)(-)) with Cu(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(4)(H(2)O)(2) in methanol or ethanol at room temperature lead to the formation of novel dimeric [Cu(2)(L(C2))(4)(MeOH)(2)] (1), [Cu(2)(L(C1))(4)(MeOH)(2)]·2(CH(2)Cl(2)) (2), [Cu(2)(L(C4))(4)(EtOH)(2)]·2(CH(2)Cl(2)) (3) complexes. When the reaction of L(C1)(-) with Cu(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(4)(H(2)O)(2) was carried out at -20 °C in the presence of pyridine, [Cu(2)(L(C1))(4)(py)(4)]·2(CH(2)Cl(2)) (4) was produced. At the core of complexes 1-3 lies the square Cu(2)(O(2)CR)(4) "paddlewheel" secondary building unit, where the two copper centers have a nearly square pyramidal geometry with methanol or ethanol occupying the axial coordination sites.

Zinc paddlewheel dimers containing a strong π···π stacking supramolecular synthon: designed single-crystal to single-crystal phase changes and gas/solid guest exchange.

The ligand 4-(1,8-naphthalimido)benzoate, L(C4)(-), containing a linear link between the strong π···π stacking 1,8-naphthalimide supramolecular synthon and the carboxylate donor group, reacts with Zn(O(2)CCH(3))(2)(H(2)O)(2) in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to yield [Zn(2)(L(C4))(4)(DMSO)(2)]·2(CH(2)Cl(2)). This compound contains the "paddlewheel" Zn(2)(O(2)CR)(4) secondary building unit (SBU) that organizes the rigid phenylene and naphthalimide rings of the carboxylate ligands in a square arrangement. The supramolecular architecture is dominated by π···π stacking interactions between naphthalimide rings of one dimer with four adjacent dimers, essentially at right angles, forming an open three-dimensional network structure.

Syntheses and characterization of copper(II) carboxylate dimers formed from enantiopure ligands containing a strong π···π stacking synthon: enantioselective single-crystal to single-crystal gas/solid-mediated transformations.

Tri- and tetrafunctional enantiopure ligands have been prepared from 1,8-naphthalic anhydride and the amino acids L-alanine, D-phenylglycine, and L-asparagine to produce (S)-2-(1,8-naphthalimido)propanoic acid (HL(ala)), (R)-2-(1,8-naphthalimido)-2-phenylacetic acid (HL(phg)), and (S)-4-amino-2-(1,8 naphthalimido)-4-oxobutanoic acid (HL(asn)), respectively. Reactions of L(ala)(-) with copper(II) acetate under a variety of solvent conditions has led to the formation and characterization by X-ray crystallography of three similar copper(II) paddlewheel complexes with different axial ligands, [Cu(2)(L(ala))(4)(THF)(2)] (1), [Cu(2)(L(ala))(4)(HL(ala))] (2), and [Cu(2)(L(ala))(4)(py)(THF)] (3). A similar reaction using THF and L(phg)(-) leads to the formation of [Cu(2)(L(phg))(4)(THF)(2)] (4).

Highly organized structures and unusual magnetic properties of paddlewheel copper(II) carboxylate dimers containing the pi-pi stacking, 1,8-naphthalimide synthon.

The substituted carboxylate compounds N-(3-propanoic acid)-1,8-naphthalimide (HL(C2)) and N-(4-butanoic acid)-1,8-naphthalimide (HL(C3)) react with Cu(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(4)(H(2)O)(2) in the presence of either pyridine (py) or 4,4'-bipyridine (bipy) to produce the dimeric complexes [Cu(2)(L(C2))(4)(py)(2)].2(CH(2)Cl(2)).(CH(3)OH) (1), [Cu(2)(L(C3))(4)(py)(2)].