Enantiomorphic Helical Coordination Polymers of {[M(pyrimidine)(OH₂)₄][SiF₆]·H₂O}_∞ (M = Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺)

Helical coordination complexes, {[M(pyrimidine)(OH2)4][SiF6]·H2O}∞; (M = Co, 1; Cu, 2; Zn, 3), were inadvertently but reproducibly isolated when corresponding metal tetrafluoroborates were reacted with pyrimidine in glass vials in 1:1 molar ratios. The crystal structures of complexes 1−3 revealed spontaneously resolved helical coordination polymers in enantiomorphic space groups P43212 (1) and P41212 (2 and 3) despite the high molecular symmetry associated with the constituent building blocks. The individual helical polymer chains were linked together by hydrogen bonding involving the H2O solvent and SiF62- anions to form a topologically complex three-dimensional network.