Single-Crystal to Single-Crystal Transformation of a 0D Cu(II) Metallocycle into a 1D Coordination Polymer Triggered by Spontaneous Desolvation in Mother Liquor

A novel 0D Cu(II) dinuclear imidazolyl-based metallocycledesolvates in the presence of mother liquor and transforms into a1D coordination polymer in a single-crystal to single-crystal fashion.The mechanism of this transformation has been elucidated, and structuralfeatures responsible for this transformation have been identified. A novel Cu(II) imidazolyl-based metallocycle, [Cu(2)L1(2)(NO3)(4)]& BULL;2MeCN, undergoesa single-crystalto single-crystal transformation to form a 1D coordination polymer,[CuL1(NO3)(2)]( n ). Thistransformation is triggered by the loss of solvent in the presenceof the same solvent, which is counterintuitive. Expulsion of interstitialsolvent molecules occurs with concomitant rearrangement of the ligands,which concertedly recoordinate to nearby metal centers to achievea lower energy state. This is the first imidazolyl-based metallacyclereported to undergo such a phase transformation.