Two square grid coordination polymers with manganese(II) and 1,4-bis(imidazole-1-ylmethyl) benzene

The reactions of the highly flexible ligand 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl) benzene (bix) with manganese(II) azide and dicyanamide (dca), respectively, have afforded two 2-D coordination polymers, [Mn(N₃)₂(bix) ₂]_n (1) {[Mn(dca)₂(bix)₂] ·CH₃OH}_n (2), which have been characterized crystallographically. In both complexes, the metal ion is octahedrally coordinated by two axial azido or dca- ions, which compensate the charge, and four equatorial bix ligands in the trans conformation, and the bix ligands serve as the spacers between metal ions, resulting in 2-D (4,4) square grid layers. Based on the known examples of metal-bix complexes, a brief analysis of the flexibility of the bix ligand and some comments on the assembly are also presented.