Synthesis,characterization and crystal structure of a chiral polymeric Cu(II) complex bridged by tartrate

A chiral metal-organic coordination polymer, [Cu(Tar)(2,2′-bipy) · 5H₂O] (1) (Tar = L-tartrate dianion, 2,2′-bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine), has been synthesized by hydrothermal reaction of Cu(OAc)₂, Na₂T (H₂T = 2,3-O-isopropylidene-L-tartaric acid) and 2,2′-bipyridine, and characterized by IR, UV–vis spectra, elemental analyses, TG-DTA, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the hydrothermal reaction, the protection group isopropylidene for tartaric acid was hydrolyzed. The crystal structure of the coordination polymer 1 shows that each tartrate chelates two Cu(II) ions at opposite ends using one carboxylate oxygen and one hydroxyl oxygen and each Cu(II) ion is chelated by two halves of tartrate dianions, forming coordination polymer chains. Distorted octahedral geometry around copper is completed by a chelating 2,2′-bipyridine molecule. The 2,2′-bipyridine groups in two of parallel 1-D chains are interwoven, constituting ladder-shaped double chains. Strong offset π–π stacking interactions with a face-to-face distance of 3.33 Å for pyridine rings are observed. All the lattice water molecules hydrogen-bond to each other or to the carbonyl oxygen of tartrate, forming a 3-D supramolecular structure.