Assembly of silver(I)-organic networks from flexible supramolecular synthons with pendant ethynide arms attached to a naphthyl skeleton.

Five new ligands bearing terminal ethynide moieties attached via pendant arms to a naphthyl skeleton have been used in the synthesis of eight silver(I) complexes. In these compounds, the invariable appearance of the mu 4 and mu 5 ligation modes of the ethynide moiety reaffirms the general utility of the silver-ethynide supramolecular synthons R-CC supersetAg n and Ag n subsetCC-R-CC supersetAg n ( n = 4, 5) in coordination network assembly, even when the R group is conformationally flexible. Besides the silver-ethynyl and silver-aromatic interactions, several unconventional intermolecular interactions (argentophilicity, anion-pi, C-H...pi, and CN...pi) also make their appearance.