New iodoargentates with azole molecules: Syntheses, structural characterization and photoluminescence properties

In this article, two organic bases (dtb ​= ​1,4-di(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)benzene; mimb ​= ​1,2-bis((2-methyl-1H-imidazole-1-yl)methyl)benzen) were employed to solvethermally react with AgI in an strong acidic environment, creating two new hybrid haloargentates [pbmt]0.5[AgI2] 1 (pbmt2+ ​= ​1,1'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(4-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium)) and [H2(mimb)]0.5[Ag2I3] 2. Note that pbmt2+ in 1 originated from the in situ N-alkylation of dtb with CH3OH. X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis reveals that (i) 1 exhibits 1-D chain structure, which can be described as an infinite extension of AgI4 tetrahedra via sharing edge; (ii) in 2, Ag+ and I− aggregate to form a 3-D iodoargentate with open-framework structure. The photoluminescence analysis reveals that at room temperature, 1 emits yellow light, while at low temperature, it just occasionally emits yellow light, and in most cases it emits yellow-green light. Whether at room temperature or low temperature, 2 always emits yellow light. It means that 1 possesses the fluorescent photo(thermo)chromic properties, whereas 2 does not have these properties. The related mechanism was also discussed.