Structural evolution and magnetic properties of Co(II) coordination polymers varied from 1D to 3D constructed by 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene.

Seven Co(II) coordination polymers, [Co(btx)(3)(H(2)O)(2)](ClO(4))(2)·(btx)·2H(2)O (1), [Co(btx)(3)(H(2)O)(2)](BF(4))(2)·(btx)·2H(2)O (2), [Co(btx)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](NO(3))(2)·2H(2)O (3), [Co(btx)(2)Cl(2)] (4), [Co(btx)(BA)(2)(H(2)O)(2)]·2HBA (5), [Co(btx)(IPA)] (6) and [Co(3)(btx)(3)(BTA)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (7) (btx = (1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene), HBA = benzoic acid, H(2)IPA = isophthalic acid, H(3)BTA = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid), have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized. 1 and 2 are isostructural and show a 1D Co-μ(2)-btx-Co chain structure, in which btx acts as both a bridging and terminal ligand. 3 is also a 1D chain structure but different from 1 and 2. The Co(II) ions are bridged by double μ(2)-btx to form Co(2)-btx(2) rings, which were further connected into 1D chains by sharing the Co(II) ions of the rings. 4 exists as a 2D grid with (4,4) topology structure. When aromatic acid was introduced to the synthetic system, three other coordination polymers 5-7 were obtained. In 5, the 1D chain is as that of 1, except that the terminal ligand was replaced by BA(-). 6 shows a two-fold parallel interpenetration framework featuring a 6-c uninodal net with (3(3),4(6),5(5),6) Schlafli topological symbol. 7 is an interesting 3D framework, which contains a 2-nodal net motif with the unprecedented (3(6),4(2),5(6),6)(3(9),4(9),5(3))(2) topology structure. The influence of the varieties of the structures and magnetic properties are studied and discussed in detail. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011