Coordination induced fluorescence enhancement and construction of a Zn3 constellation through hydrolysis of ligand imine arms

The phenoxido and alkoxido bridged neutral Zn(3) complex Zn(3)(μ-H(2)bemp)(2)(μ(3)-emp)(2)] (1), with an angular Zn(3)(μ-OPh)(2)(μ-OEt)(2) core and capping nitrogen donors, was synthesized via simultaneous chelation-cum-bridging of the parent and hydrolysed ligands. Zinc(II) coordination triggered the solution phase imine (C=N) bond hydrolysis of H(3)bemp (2,6-bis-(2-hydroxyethylimino)methyl]-4-methylphenol) and yielded the unexpected angular trinuclear Zn(II) complex 1, having structural similarity with the Zn(3) active site of P1 nuclease. H(3)bemp also displays a zinc(II) selective chelation-enhanced fluorescence response from strong metal ion coordination. Complexation of zinc(II) with H(3)bpmp (2,6-bis-(3-hydroxypropylimino)methyl]-4-methylphenol), a close analogue of H(3)bemp, instead provides only mononuclear Zn(H(2)bpmpH(N))(2)](ClO(4))(2)·2H(2)O (2·2H(2)O) (H(N) is the proton attached to an imine nitrogen atom) of two zwitterionic ligands, generated through a kind of coordination driven acid-base reaction, without showing any aggregation reaction. As the sole metal-organic precursor, both the complexes under pyrolytic conditions give ZnO nano structures of two morphologies.