Proton-Conducting Humidity-Sensitive NiII-NbIV Magnetic Coordination Network.

The 2D coordination network (NH4)2[NiII(cyclam)]3[NbIV(CN)8]2·21H2O (1·21H2O) was obtained on a cation-assisted synthetic pathway. The reaction between [Ni(cyclam)]2+ and [Nb(CN)8]4- in the presence of excess of NH4Cl resulted in the formation of negatively charged coordination layers with the simultaneous incorporation of the NH4+ cations into the microporous channels of the structure. 1·21H2O network can be partly dehydrated in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal structural transformation to give (NH4)2[NiII(cyclam)]3[NbIV(CN)8]2·14H2O (1·14H2O). The dehydration-induced structural changes, in particular the deformation of CN--bridges and the disruption of interlayer interactions, give rise to the solvatomagnetic effect. Fully hydrated 1·21H2O phase is a ferrimagnet with a critical temperature of magnetic ordering of 7.6 K and a narrow magnetization hysteresis loop, while 1·14H2O hydrate is an antiferromagnet with Tc = 7.2 K and metamagnetic transition at 6.3 kOe. Thanks to the presence of the NH4+ ions in the structure, the proton conductivity of ∼4 × 10-5 S cm-1 (295 K, 100% relative humidity, RH) is observed with the activation energy of 0.80 eV.