Silver(I) coordination polymers with thioether ligands: The influence of fluoro-substitution

A fluoro-substituted thioether ligand, 1,4-bis(phenylthiomethyl)-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene (L-F) was synthesized to compare the solid-state structures and silver(I) coordination chemistry with ligand L without fluoro-substitutions. The crystal structures of both ligands have been determined by X-ray diffraction technique and the results revealed that fluoro-substitution has an important impact on the molecular conformations and crystal packing patterns. The solution reactions of two ligands (L and L-F) with silver (I) hexafluorophosphate afforded their Ag(I) complexes 1 and 2, respectively, with good-quality crystals which have been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. While 1 including ligand L displays a 3-dimensional (3-D) coordination network, where silver(I) adopts pseudo-tetradedral coordination geometry, 2 shows a 1-D polymeric chain with di-coordinate silver(I) ions being bridging metal nodes. The remarkable difference observed in silver(I) coordination chemistry further highlights the role of fluoro-substitution in governing the metal-driven self-assembly process involving thioether compounds. The thermal properties of both ligands and silver(I) complexes have been investigated. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.