Supramolecular Isomerism in a Cadmium Bis(N-Hydroxyethyl, N-isopropyldithiocarbamate) Compound: Physiochemical Characterization of Ball (n=2) and Chain (n = ∞) Forms of {Cd[S2CN(iPr)CH2CH2OH]2•solvent}n

Needles of [{Cd[S2CN(ipr)CH2CH2OH](2)}(3)center dot MeCN](infinity) (2) were harvested from a dry acetonitrile solution of Cd[S2CN(iPr)-CH2CH2OH](2) after one or two days and proved to be a coordination polymer in which all dithiocarbamate ligands are mu(2),kappa(2)-tridentate, bridging two cadmium atoms and simultaneously chelating one of these. If the same solution was allowed to stand for at least several days, 2 is replaced by blocks comprising a supramolecular isomer of 2, dimeric 1, with formula {Cd[S2CN(iPr)CH2CH2OH2]}(2)center dot 2H(2)O center dot 2MeCN, and two ligands coordination mu(2),kappa(2) as in 2 and the other two purely kappa(2)-chelating. The time dependency correlates with the pivotal role of water in driving the conversion of chain 2 to ball 1; crystals of 2 could not be isolated from wet acetonitrile. When each of 1 and 2 are dissolved in solution, they exhibit comparable spectroscopic attributes (H-1, C-13, and Cd-113 NMR and UV/vis), indicating the solution structures are the same. Both 1 and 2 are luminescent in the solid state with 1 being significantly brighter than 2. Greenockite Cds nanoparticles are generated by the thermal decomposition of both a and 2.