Syntheses and structures of two- and three-dimensional coordination networks generated from silver complexes and hmt (hmt=hexamethylenetetramine)

Ag(CO2PhCO2)Ag reacts with hexamethylenetetramine (hmt) in acetonitrile solution in the ratio 1:2 to yield the network [Ag2(μ3-hmt)2(μ-O2CPhCO2)]·7H2O, in which AgCO2PhCO2Ag units intercalate between the two-dimensional honeycomb-like layers to give a three-dimensional open network, while Ag(MePhSO3) reacts with hmt in the ratio 2:1 to produce the coordination network Ag2(μ4-hmt)(MePhSO3)2, consisting of two-dimensional grids with square cavities. The X-ray diffraction studies show that these two metal complexes can be used as molecular building blocks in the synthesis of silver–hmt networks.