Anion-controlled structural diversity in cadmium coordination polymers of 3-aminobenzonitrile

Using 3-aminobenzonitrile (3-ABN) as a ligand and different anions, three cadmium coordination polymers of the formulae [Cd(3-ABN)I2]n (1), [Cd(3-ABN)Br2]n (2), {[Cd(3-ABN)2(H2O)2](ClO4)2}n (3), were synthesized and characterized by FT -IR, PXRD, TGA as well as single -crystal X-ray analysis. Our results show that by changing the anions, different structural motifs were formed in compounds 1-3. Structural analysis shows that the 3-ABN ligand in all compounds plays the role of a bridge between cadmium centers. Compound 1 is a 1D double chain structural motif while compounds 2 and 3 form different 2D coordination polymers. Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed to investigate the intermolecular interactions in compounds 1-3.