A 3D polar nanotubular coordination polymer with dynamic structural transformation and ferroelectric and nonlinear-optical properties.

A chiral coordination nanotube, [Cd(3)(BPT)(2)(H(2)O)(9)]·2H(2)O (Cd-1; BPT = biphenyl-3,4',5-tricarboxylate), has been synthesized from achiral components and structurally characterized. It consists of homochiral channels based on right-handed helical chains and shows an interdigitated interaction to give a chiral 3D network. The chiral nanotubular framework exhibts dynamic structural transformation upon removal of the guest molecules, and the polarity of this compound induces it to display both ferroelectric and nonlinear-optical properties.