Ionothermal synthesis is a little used method for the preparation of coordination polymers. By this method, two cadmium compounds were synthesized, 1, with formula Cd3(ox)F2(Ina)2 (Ina = isonicotinate) and 2, Cd(NO3)2(4,4'-Bpy) (4,4'-Bpy = 4,4'-Bipyridine). The modification of the reaction conditions has allowed to obtain 2 as a pure phase. The structure of both compounds was determined by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 is isostructural to the previously reported Cd2Zn(ox)(OH)2(Ina)2. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n and present a three-dimensional (3D) network, built-up from [Cd3(ox)F2]n2n+ layers, linked by isonicotinate ligands. Crystals of 2 are formed by twins of two components which are rotated ca. 180° to each other. This compound crystallizes in the triclinic P-1 space group and its structure can be describe as a two-dimensional (2D) 4 connected 'sql' net. The layers are composed by [Cd(NO3)2]n chains linked through 4,4'-Bpy ligands, and are pillared along the [011] direction. The thermal decomposition of 2 was studied by thermogravimetric and thermodiffractiometric techniques. The compound decomposes gradually starting from 160 °C, and due to heating, the structure suffers slight reversible changes in the bond distances and angles.
Keywords: Cadmium coordination polymers; crystal structure determination; ionothermal synthesis.