Structural Interconversion Controlled by Hydrogen-Bond Interactions: A Mononuclear Copper Triamine Complex and a Polynuclear Copper Triamine Sheet

Because of the steric hindrance caused by the large bite angles of the employed dipropylenetriamine (dpt) ligand to the copper center, a five-coordinated copper triamine complex, [Cu(η3-dpt)(η2-dpt)](ClO4)2 (1), was prepared and structurally characterized. When water was added to a methanol solution of 1, the discrete mononuclear copper complex 1 was converted to a two-dimensional zigzag layer, and this conversion behavior was reversible as water was removed.