Solvent-controlled assemblies,structures, and properties of two Hg(II) coordination polymers with a multidentate N-donor tecton 3,4-bis(2-pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole

Coordination polymers Hg(L²)Cl₂]_n (1) and {Hg₂(L²)Cl₄](DMF)}_n (2) have been assembled from Hg(II) chloride and a novel tripyridyltriazole tecton 3,4-bis(2-pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole (L²) in different solvent media. Both complexes have been characterized by IR, microanalysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction indicates that the L² ligands take the (η³, μ₂) and (η⁴, μ₃) binding modes in 1 and 2, respectively, which connect the Hg(II) centers to afford linear and ladder-like 1D arrays. Interestingly, complex 1 exhibits strong solid state fluorescent emission at room temperature due to the intraligand transitions, whereas complex 2 is non-fluorescent.