In recent years, much initial interest and enthusiasm has focused on the self-assembly of coordination polymers due to the aesthetics of their crystalline architectures and their potential applications as new functional materials. As part of an exploration of chiral coordination polymers, a new twofold interpenetrated two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer, namely, poly[[tetraaquabis[μ3-(2R,2′R)-2,2′-(benzene-1,4-dicarboxamido)dipropionato-κ5
O,O′:O′′,O′′′:O′′]dicadmium(II)] trihydrate], {[Cd2(C14H14N2O6)2(H2O)4]·3H2O}
n
, has been synthesized by the reaction of Cd(CH3COO)2·2H2O with the designed ligand (2R,2′R)-2,2′-(benzene-1,4-dicarboxamido)dipropionic acid (H2
L). The compound has been structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the crystal structure, each CdII cation binds to three carboxylate groups from two crystallographically independent L
2− dianions. Four carboxylate groups link two crystallographically independent cadmium cations into a 4,4-connected secondary building unit (SBU). The resulting SBUs are extended into a two-dimensional folding sheet via the terephthalamide moiety of the ligand as a spacer, which can be simplified as a (4,4)-connected 4,4L15 net with the point symbol (3.53.62)(32.52.62). In the lattice, two independent folding sheets interpenetrate each other to yield a double-sheet layer. The resulting 2D layers pack in parallel arrays through intermolecular hydrogen bonds and interlayer π–π interactions. The thermal stability and photoluminescence properties of the title compound have been investigated and it exhibits an enhanced fluorescence emission and a longer lifetime compared with free H2
L.
Chirality, Gelation Ability and Crystal Structure: Together or Apart? Alkyl Phenyl Ethers of Glycerol as Simple LMWGs