Coinage metal(I)···metal(I) interactions are widely of interest in fields such as supramolecular assembly and unique luminescent properties, etc. Only two types of polynuclear silver(I) pyrazolato complexes have been reported, however, and no detailed spectroscopic characterizations have been reported. An unexpected synthetic method yielded a polynuclear silver(I) complex [Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]n (L1Clpz- = 4-chloride-3,5-diisopropyl-1-pyrazolate anion) by the reaction of {[Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]3}2 with (nBu4N)[Ag(CN)2]. The obtained structure was compared with the known hexanuclear silver(I) complex {[Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]3}2. The Ag···Ag distances in [Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]n are slightly shorter than twice Bondi's van der Waals radius, indicating some Ag···Ag argentophilic interactions. Two Ag-N distances in [Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]n were found: 2.0760(13) and 2.0716(13) Å, and their N-Ag-N bond angles of 180.00(7)° and 179.83(5)° indicate that each silver(I) ion is coordinated by two pyrazolyl nitrogen atoms with an almost linear coordination. Every five pyrazoles point in the same direction to form a 1-D zig-zag structure. Some spectroscopic properties of [Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]n in the solid-state are different from those of {[Ag(μ-L1Clpz)]3}2 (especially in the absorption and emission spectra), presumably attributable to this zig-zag structure having longer but differently arranged intramolecular Ag···Ag interactions of 3.39171(17) Å. This result clearly demonstrates the different physicochemical properties in the solid-state between 1-D coordination polymer and metalacyclic trinuclear (hexanuclear) or tetranuclear silver(I) pyrazolate complexes.
Keywords: coordination polymer; crystal structure; polynuclear; pyrazolate ligand; silver.