Crystal structure ofcatena-poly[bis(formato-κO)bis[μ2-1,1′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1H-imidazole)-κ2N3:N3′]cobalt(II)]
A red block-shaped crystal of the title compound, [Co(HCOO)2(C12H10N4)2]n, was obtained by the reaction of cobalt(II) nitrate hexahydrate, formic acid and 1,1′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1H-imidazole) (bib) molecules. The asymmetric unit consists of one CoIIcation, one formate ligand and two halves of a bib ligand. The central CoIIcation, located on an inversion centre, is coordinated by two carboxylate O atoms and four N atoms from bib ligands, completing an octahedral coordination geometry. The CoIIcentres are bridged by bib ligands, giving a two-dimensional net. Topologically, taking the CoIIatoms as nodes and the bib ligands as linkers, the two-dimensional structure can be simplified as a typicalsql/Shubnikov tetragonal plane network. The structure features C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions between formate and bib ligands, resulting in a three-dimensional supramolecular network.