Syntheses,crystal structures,and magnetism of two phenylacetate imidazolate copper(II) complexes

The influence of pH for the reaction system involving CuCl₂?·?2H₂O, imidazole (Him) and phenylacetic acid (HL) at room temperature was investigated. Cu₂(Him)₄L₄?·?2H₂O (1) and Cu₃(Him)₂(im)₂L₄ (2) were synthesized at pH 6.5 and 7.5, respectively. In 1, the Cu is coordinated by two nitrogen atoms of two Him and three oxygen atoms from three phenylacetates to form a square pyramid CuN₂O₃. Adjacent square pyramids share edges to form Cu₂N₄O₄ dimers, which are assembled by hydrogen bonds into a 2-D layer parallel to the (001) plane. In 2, copper atoms are interlinked by im^? and L^? to form a 2-D layer parallel to (100). The resulting layers have C–H···O hydrogen bonds leading to a 3-D supramolecular architecture. Variable temperature magnetism of 1 and 2 suggests a weak ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic coupling exchange (J?=?0.58?cm^?1 for 1, J?=??10.24?cm^?1 for 2).