Structures and fluorescent properties of picolinato zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes based on tridentate and tetradentate benzimidazole ligands

Five picolinato zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes, [Zn(ntb)(pic)]ClO₄·CH₃OH·2H₂O (1), [Zn(bbma)(pic)]NO₃·2CH₃OH (2), [Cd(ntb)(pic)]ClO₄·0.75CH₃OH·H₂O (3), [Cd₂(bbma)₂(pic)₂](ClO₄)₂ (4), and [Cd₂(bbp)(bbp_-H)(pic)₂(C₂H₅OH)]ClO₄ (5), have been synthesized, where pic is the anion of picolinic acid, ntb is tris(2-benzimidazolylmethyl)amine, bbma is bis(benzimidazol-2-yl-methyl)amine, and bbp is 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine. All the complexes were characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, elemental analysis, IR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. 1–3 are mononuclear complexes in which picolinate adopts a N,O-chelating mode. 4 is a symmetrical dinuclear complex bridged by two anti-parallel picolinates in a N,O,O-coordination mode. 5 is also a dinuclear complex in which only one picolinate is a bridge. A 1-D double chain is formed by extensive H-bonds and π–π stacking in 1, while single zigzag chains are formed in 5. Complexes 2–4 all exhibit 6³-hcb 2-D frameworks. They extend to form four-connected 6⁶-dia 3-D topological nets for 2 and 4 and five-connected 4⁶·6⁴-bnn 3-D topological nets for 3. The five complexes show emission maxima in the blue region in the solid state.