Hydrothermal synthesis, crystal structure and photoluminescence of two homochiral zinc(II) coordination polymers

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have potentially useful applications and an intriguing variety of architectures and topologies. Two homochiral coordination polymers have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method, namely poly[(μ-N-benzyl-L-phenylalaninato-κ4O,O′:O,N)(μ-formato-κ2O:O′)zinc(II)], [Zn(C16H16NO2)(HCOO)]n, (1), and poly[(μ-N-benzyl-L-leucinato-κ4O,O′:O,N)(μ-formato-κ2O:O′)zinc(II)], [Zn(C13H18NO2)(HCOO)]n, (2), and studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Compounds (1) and (2) each have a two-dimensional layer structure, with the benzyl or isobutyl groups of the ligands directed towards the interlayer interface. Photoluminescence investigations show that both (1) and (2) display a strong emission in the blue region.