Highly Stable Chiral Cadmium 1,2,4-Benzenetricarboxylate: Synthesis, Structure, and NLO and Fluorescence Properties

Employing an unsymmetrical 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate as a bridging ligand, a new 3-D chiral cadmium coordination
polymer [Cd2(OH)(1,2,4-BTC)] (1,2,4-BTC = 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate) has been prepared under hydrothermal
conditions and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic
space group P212121, with cell parameters a = 6.900(2) Å, b = 7.404(3) Å, c = 19.116(5) Å, V = 976.5(5) Å3,
and Z = 4. Its structure contains 2-D Cd−O−Cd connectivity, which is further linked by the 1,2,4-BTC ligand into
a 3-D supramolecular framework. The 1,2,4-BTC ligand shows a novel and unprecedented coordination mode: 
nine bonds to eight metals with each carboxylate as a tridentate group. The compound exhibits intense
photoluminescence at room temperature and shows distinct NLO properties. On the basis of the results of TG/DTA
analyses, the structure is thermally stable up to ∼ 380 °C.