Self Assembly of Silver(I) Complexes Containing 1,4-Bis[(3-pyridyl)ethynynl]benzene

One-dimensional (1-D) zigzag chains of {[AgL](ClO4)center dot 0.5Et(2)O}(n) (1), {[AgL](OTf)center dot Et2O}(n) (2), and {[AgL](BF4)center dot 0.5CH(3)OH}(n) (3) were obtained from the reaction of AgClO4, AgCF3SO3, and AgBF4 with 1,4-bis(pyridine-3-ylethynyl)benzene (L), respectively, in similar reaction conditions, whereas it led to the formation of a 1-D sinusoidal chain of {[AgL(NO3)]center dot H2O}(n) (4) and a metallolocycle of [Ag2L6](BF4)(2) (5) in a different reaction procedure for the AgNO3 and AgBF4 cases. Complexes 1-3 form 1-D zigzag chains, and every two chains are further stacked to give a pair of chains assisted by weak Ag(I)center dot center dot center dot Ag(I) and pi center dot center dot center dot pi interactions, whereas a single 1-D sinusoidal chain of 4 can only be obtained. Although the reaction is carried out in a similar reaction as 4 except that BF4- was used instead of NO3-, a metallocycle of 5 was obtained instead. It is noted that only the bridging L ligands in 5 adopt a syn conformation, whereas those in 1-4 are in an anti conformation. In this regard, this work has demonstrated the delicate effects of anions and reaction conditions on the assembly reactions of complexes 1-5. In addition, we observed a structural transformation during the heating process for 5. Although the powder X-ray diffraction pattern of 5 at 210 degrees C is similar to that of 3, it cannot be conclusively proven by powder X-ray diffraction studies at this moment due to the presence of some mismatches between both patterns of 5 and 3.