Syntheses and structures of photochromic silver(I) coordination polymers with cis-1,2-dicyano-1,2-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thienyl)ethene

Five novel silver(I) coordination polymers with cis-1,2-dicyano-1,2-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3- thienyl)ethene (cis-dbe) were synthesized and are characterized in this paper. Treatment of AgCF(3)SO(3) or AgCF(3)CO(2) with cis-dbe afforded Ag(2)(cis-dbe)(CF(3)SO(3))(2)] (1) and Ag(2)(cis-dbe)(CF(3)CO(2))(2)] (2), and both complexes exhibit a 1-D infinite chain structure with two cyano groups and two thienyl groups of the ligand bridging four metal ions. Reaction of AgC(n)()F(2)(n)(+1)CO(2) with cis-dbe gave rise to an unprecedented cocrystallization of a 2-D sheet structure, Ag(2)(cis-dbe)(C(n)F(2)(n)(+1)CO(2))(2)], where n = 2 (3), 3 (4), and 4 (5). Upon irradiation with 450 nm light, these five silver(I) complexes turned orange or red from yellow, and the color reverted to yellow on exposure to 560 nm light, indicative of the reversible cyclization/ring-opening reaction occurring in the crystalline phase. Furthermore, different anions gave not only the different structural dimensions but also the different photoresponsive patterns. The correlation between the crystal structures and the photochromic reactivity is discussed.