Structural Origin of Chirality and Properties of a Remarkable Helically Pillared Solid

A new helically pillared and chiral solid, Cu(pzc)2AgReO4 (I, pzc = pyrazinecarboxylate), was synthesized from hydrothermal reactions at 95−125 °C. The structural origin of its chirality, relative to the achiral M(pzc)2(H2O)2AgReO4 (II, M = Co; III, M = Ni) analogues, arises from significantly tilted pillars and hydrogen bonds to the AgReO4 layers. The new pillared structure exhibits second harmonic generation activity, CO2 absorption, thermal stability to ∼250 °C, and Curie−Weiss magnetism expected for isolated Cu2+.