Inorganic–organic hybrids of the p,p′-diphenylmethylenediphosphinate ligand with bivalent metals: a new 2D-layered phenylphosphinate zinc(II) complex

By reaction of Zn(CH3COO)2 with p,p′-diphenylmethylenediphosphinic acid in water a new inorganic–organic polymeric hybrid of formula [Zn(CH2(P(Ph)O2)2)] has been synthesized and completely characterized. The X-ray analysis established that the structure consists of 2D-layered polymeric array, the 2D-sheets being built up through strong covalent linkages between the zinc metal and the oxygen donors of the phenylphosphinate ligand. The 2D-layers, which are featuring a mesh-net fashion, present voids of various dimensionality, up to 24-membered rings. The organic parts of the hybrid ligand, namely the phenyl rings, are shielding the inorganic skeleton of the layers, preventing the propagation of the polymer in the third dimension. No water molecules are present in the lattice, both of coordination and crystallization. Crystal data are: monoclinic, P21/c, a=11.840(2), b=9.646(9), c=12.516(5) A, β=95.03(2), V=1423.9(15) A3, Z=4. The solid material has been characterized by 31P MAS NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis.