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

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-κ(4)O,O':O,N)(μ-formato-κ(2)O:O')zinc(II)], [Zn(C16H16NO2)(HCOO)]n, (1), and poly[(μ-N-benzyl-L-leucinato-κ(4)O,O':O,N)(μ-formato-κ(2)O: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.