[Cd3(H2O)3((O3PCH2)2NH-CH2C6H4-COOH)2].11H2O: a layered cadmium phosphonate with reversible dehydration/hydration properties.

In a recent systematic study on the influence of the reaction temperature on the structure formation in the system CdCl2/H(HO3PCH2)2NH-CH2C6H4-COOH (H5L) /NaOH, [Cd3(H2O)3((O3PCH2)2NH-CH2C6H4-COOH)2].11H2O was obtained as a microcrystalline compound. We have now been able to elucidate the structure from single-crystal data: triclinic, P; a=5.4503(9), b=12.880(2), and c=16.417(3) A; alpha=67.841(6) degrees, beta=80.633(6) degrees, gamma=87.688(8) degrees, V=1052.9(3) A3; Z=1; R1=0.1143, R2=0.2108 (all data); 0.0705, 0.1823 ((I>2sigmaI)). The structure of [Cd3(H2O)3((O3PCH2)2NH-CH2C6H4-COOH)2].11H2O is built up of cadmium phosphonate layers connected by water-mediated hydrogen bonds between aryl-carboxylic acid groups and water molecules coordinated to Cd2+ ions of adjacent layers (C-OH...H2O...H2O-Cd2+). The title compound was characterized by IR spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray, elemental, and thermogravimetric analyses. Furthermore, temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction data are presented. [Cd3(H2O)3((O3PCH2)2NH-CH2C6H4-COOH)2].11H2O can be reversibly dehydrated, and mechanical stress and grinding in the presence of water leads to the intercalation of additional water molecules.