Cation-exchange-induced single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations of a nanoporous coordination complex

Use of a rigidly conjugated clamp-like bis-pyridyl-bis-amide ligand N,N-bis-(3-pyridyl)isophthalamide (L), complex [CoLCl2](2) (1) with porous macrocycle structure was obtained under solvothermal conditions. When single crystals of 1 were immersed into the methanol solution of HgCl2 and CdSO4, new crystals of a bimetallic macrocyclic complex [HgLCl2](2) (2) and a two-dimensional (2D) corrugated sheet complex [CdLSO4(H2O)(2)](n) (3) were attained, respectively. All these phenomena are observed through single crystal to single crystal (SCSC) transformations along with the metal-ligand bond breaking and the new metal-ligand bond formation. In addition, the determination of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) reveals that the exchange is a recurrent dissolving-exchange-crystallization process of solvent-mediated mechanism. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.