A structurally-characterized zinc 2,5-diiminobenzoquinoid chain compound

The incorporation of amino-substituted benzoquinoid bridging ligands into extended solids may provide a route to access light-weight metal-organic solids with high-temperature magnetic behavior and electronic conductivity. Reaction of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O with 2,5-diamino-3,6-dibromo-1,4-benzoquinone (BrLH2) in DMF at 130 °C gave black block-shaped single crystals of the compound Zn(BrL)(DMF), which features a structure comprised of one-dimensional chains made up of alternating ZnII ions and BrL2− bridging ligands. The preservation of NH groups on BrL2− was confirmed by X-ray crystallography, a suite of spectroscopic measurements, and elemental analysis. To our knowledge, this chain compound represents the first structurally-characterized solid that contains amino-substituted benzoquinoid bridging ligands. Finally, an ambient temperature electronic conductivity value of σ = 1.076(5) × 10−12 S·cm−1 was measured for the chain compound.54