Syntheses, structures, and properties of Co(II)/Zn(II) mixed-ligand coordination polymers based on 4-[(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)amino]benzoic acid and 1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl) benzene

•Two isomorphic Co(II)/Zn(II) complexes with the mixed-ligands have been synthesized.•Hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions directed the final 3-D architecture assembly.•Both Co(II) and Zn(II) complexes show good thermal stability.•Co complex exhibits antiferromagnetic interaction.•The fluorescent property of Zn(II) complex has been investigated in the solid state.

Two coordination polymers [Co(dnbab)2(bimb)](H2O)4 (1) and [Zn(dnbab)2(bimb)](H2O)5 (2) (Hdnbab=4-[(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)amino]benzoic acid, bimb=1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl) benzene) have been solvothermally synthesized. Their structures have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and further characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. Complexes 1 and 2 are isostructures and each displays an one-dimensional (1D) zigzag chain, which further forms a 3D supramolecular architecture with 1-D channels via inter-chain π–π interactions and hydrogen bonds. Moreover, the magnetic properties of 1 and fluorescent properties of 2 have been investigated.

Graphical abstractTwo coordination supramolecular frameworks [Co(dnbab)2(bimb)](H2O)4(1) and [Zn(dnbab)2(bimb)](H2O)5(2) (Hdnbab=4-[(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)amino]benzoic acid, bimb=1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl) benzene) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Their thermal, magnetic and fluorescent properties have also been studied.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide