Selective Sensing of Nitrophenols by a Inorganic Coordination Polymer: [Cd2(C4H4O5)2(C5H5N5)]•H2O•DMA

A solvothermal reaction between cadmium nitrate, adenine and oxydiacetic acid gave rise to a new compound, [Cd-2(C4H4 O-5) (2)(C5H5N5)].H2O.DMA (DMA: dimethyl amine). Single crystal structural studies indicated a two-dimensional layer structure formed entirely by the connectivity between cadmium and oxydiacetic acid. The adenine ligand binds with the Cd metal center through the pyrimidine nitrogen and hangs in the inter layer spaces. The layers are arranged in a ABAB.. fashion. The inter layer spaces contain water and dimethyl amine molecules. The dimethyl amine molecule resulted from the hydrolysis of dimethyl acetamide employed as one of the solvent in the synthesis. The removal of water molecule can be achieved by heating the sample at 100 degrees C, which is also confirmed by single crystal XRD, PXRD and IR studies. The availability of free amino groups of adenine molecule was employed for the detection of nitroaromatics, especially nitrophenols with good sensitivity. The amino group was also found to be useful for Knoevenagel condensation reactions.