Luminescent infinite coordination polymer materials from metal-terpyridine ligation

A new class of infinite coordination polymers (CP) was synthesized using a tetrahedral tetrakis[4-(4′-phenyl-2,2′:6′,2′′- terpyridine)phenyl]methane ligand as an organic node to direct the three-dimensional growth of the network and M^II (M = Zn, Fe, Ni, and Ru) ions as inorganic linkers, an approach that is the opposite of the metal-as-a-node strategy used in the construction of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The unusual rod-like morphology of the resulting microporous materials can be tuned via solvents and reaction conditions. The covalent entrapment of a [Ru(tpy)₂]²⁺ moiety in the skeleton of the 3D-network enables the Ru-CP to exhibit room-temperature luminescence.