Commensurate Superstructure of the {Cu(NO₃)­(H₂O)}­(HTae)­(Bpy) Coordination Polymer: An Example of 2D Hydrogen-Bonding Networks as Magnetic Exchange Pathway

The average and commensurate superstructures of the one-dimensional coordination polymer {Cu­(NO₃)­(H₂O)}­(HTae)­(Bpy) (H₂Tae = 1,1,2,2-tetraacetylethane, Bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine) were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the possible symmetry relations between the space group of the average structure and the superstructure were checked. The crystal structure consists in parallel and oblique {Cu­(HTae)­(Bpy)} zigzag metal–organic chains stacked along the [100] crystallographic direction. The origin of the fivefold c axis in the commensurate superstructure is ascribed to a commensurate modulation of the coordination environment of the copper atoms. The commensurately ordered nitrate groups and coordinated water molecules establish a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network. Moreover, the crystal structure shows a commensurate to incommensurate transition at room temperature. The release of the coordination water molecules destabilizes the crystal framework, and the compound shows an irreversible structure transformation above 100 °C. Despite the loss of crystallinity, the spectroscopic studies indicate that the main building blocks of the crystal framework are retained after the transformation. The hydrogen-bonding network not only plays a crucial role stabilizing the crystal structure but also is an important pathway for magnetic exchange transmission. In fact, the magnetic susceptibility curves indicate that after the loss of coordinated water molecules, and hence the collapse of the hydrogen-bonding network, the weak anti-ferromagnetic coupling observed in the initial compound is broken. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra are the consequence of the average signals from Cu­(II) with different orientations, indicating that the magnetic coupling is effective between them. In fact, X- and Q-band data are reflecting different situations; the X-band spectra show the characteristics of an exchange g-tensor, while the Q-band signals are coming from both the exchange and the molecular g-tensors.