Two hybrid transition metal triphosphonates decorated with a tripodal imidazole ligand: synthesis, structures and properties.

Two isostructural transition-metal (TM) triphosphonates decorated with neutral rigid N-containing ligands 1,3,5-tris(1-imidazolyl)benzene (tib), [Zn3(L1)(tib)]·8H2O (1) and [Co3(L1)(tib)]·9H2O (2) (H6L1 = N(CH2PO3H2)3), nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid), have been solvothermally prepared and structurally characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and single-crystal/powder X-ray diffraction. The title compounds exhibit a pillar-layer structure with the TM-triphosphonates as layers and the rigid tib ligand as a pillar. The luminescence and magnetic properties have been investigated. Compound 1 exhibits intense blue luminescence, while compound 2 shows weak ferromagnetic behaviour.