Weakly coordinated [Cu(pcp)(H2O)n] complexes are formed in aqueous solution, at room temperature, by interaction of P,P'-diphenylmethylene diphosphinic acid (H2pcp) with copper(II) ions. However, heating of the solutions gives rise to the formation of two extended metal-oxygen networks of formulas [Cu(pcp)(H2O)2] x H2O, 1, and [Cu(pcp)(H2O)2], 2. In the presence of 2,2'-bipyridyl (bipy) the diamine derivative [Cu(pcp)(bipy)(H2O)], 4, has been isolated. Complex 1 easily loses water to form a monohydrated derivative [Cu(pcp)H2O], 3, whereas 2 is completely dehydrated after prolonged heating at 150 degrees C, under vacuum. The compounds 1 and 2 have substantially different solid-state structures as shown by X-ray powder diffraction spectra, IR spectra, and thermogravimetric analyses. Consistently, the two complexes cannot be directly interconverted and present different dehydration pathways. Rehydration of these materials in both cases allows quantitative formation of 1. X-ray analysis established that the structure of 1 consists of a corrugated two-dimensional layered polymeric array, where infinite zigzag chains of Cu centers and bridging phenylphosphinate ligands are linked together through strong hydrogen-bonding interactions; the structure of 4 consists of monodimensional polymers, where the hydrogen-bonding interactions play an essential bridging role in the extended architecture. In both structures the metal center displays a five-coordinate environment with approximate square pyramidal geometry, with the pcp ligand acting as bidentate and monodentate in 1 and solely as bidentate in 4. In 1 the coordination sphere is completed through water molecules; in 4, through water and diamine ligands. The thermogravimetric analyses of the complexes are compared with those of the related hybrids [M(pcp)(H2O)3] x H2O, where M = Mn, Co, or Ni, confirming that noncoordinated water molecules also play a basic role in determining the molecular packing.