Synthesis and crystal structures of silver(I) complexes of 3(5)-methyl-5(3)-phenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole: two isomeric infinite chains coexisting in the same crystal

Reactions of 3(5)-methyl-5(3)-phenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole (3-Me-5-Ph-tzH) with AgNO₃ in the absence/presence of NH₃ yield a mononuclear [Ag(3-Me-5-Ph-tzH)₂]NO₃·3H₂O (1) and a polymeric [Ag(3-Me-5-Ph-tz)]_n (2), respectively. Two structurally different infinite chains, however, with the same formula of AgC₉H₈N₃—one is double-decked and the other single zigzag—coexist in 1:1 ratio in the crystal of 2. As far as we know, 2 is the first binary silver(I) complex based on an asymmetric triazole and represents a rare case of two supramolecular isomers coexisting in the same crystal.