R-phenyldicarboxyl (R = H, NO2 and COOH) modular effect on Ni(II) coordination polymers incorporated with a versatile connector 1H-3-(3-pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole

Based on the versatile ligand 1H-3-(3-pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole (3,4′-Hbpt) (1), a series of coordination compounds Ni(3,4′-Hbpt)(ip)] (2), Ni(3,4′-Hbpt)₂(tp)(H₂O)₂] (3), Ni₂(3,4′-Hbpt)(5-NO₂-ip)₂(H₂O)₄] (4) and Ni(3,4′-Hbpt)(pm)_0.5(H₂O)₃]·2H₂O (5) have been hydrothermally constructed through R-phenyldicarboxyl (R = H, NO₂ and COOH) intervention effect (ip = isophthalic anion, tp = terephthalic anion, 5-NO₂-ip = 5-NO₂-isophthalic anion, pm = pyromellitic anion). Structural analysis reveals that 3,4′-Hbpt adopts μ-N_py, N_py coordination modes in two typical conformations in these target coordination compounds. In cooperation with the auxiliary ligands benzenedicarboxylate connectors, a variety of Ni(II) coordination networks such as 2-D layer with (4, 4) topology (2) 1-D chain (3), honeycomb (4) and 2-D helical chains (5) have been assembled. Theoretical calculation based on density functional theory (DFT) for ligand (1) is also employed to explicate the stability of the different conformations. Moreover, thermal stability of these crystalline materials is explored by TG-DTG.