Syntheses, structural characterization and properties of transition metal complexes of 5,5'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1H-tetrazole) (H(2)bdt), 5',5''-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diylbis(1H-tetrazole) (H(2)dbdt) and 5,5',5''-(1,3,5-phenylene)tris(1H-tetrazole) (H(3)btt).

The hydrothermal chemistry of a variety of M(II)SO(4) salts with the tetrazole (Ht) ligands 5,5'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1H-tetrazole) (H(2)bdt), 5',5''-(1,1'-biphenyl)4,4'-diylbis(1H-tetrazole) (H(2)dbdt) and 5,5',5''-(1,3,5-phenylene)tris(1H-tetrazole) (H(3)btt) was investigated. In the case of Co(II), three phases were isolated, two of which incorporated sulfate: [Co(5)F(2)(dbdt)(4)(H(2)O)(6)]·2H(2)O (1·2H(2)O), [Co(4)(OH)(2)(SO(4))(bdt)(2)(H(2)O)(4)] (2) and [Co(3)(OH)(SO(4))(btt)(H(2)O)(4)]·3H(2)O (3·3H(2)O). The structures are three-dimensional and consist of cluster-based secondary building units: the pentanuclear {Co(5)F(2)(tetrazolate)(8)(H(2)O)(6)}, the tetranuclear {Co(4)(OH)(2)(SO(4))(2)(tetrazolate)(6)}(4-), and the trinuclear {Co(3)(μ(3)-OH)(SO(4))(2) (tetrazolate)(3)}(2-) for 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The Ni(II) analogue [Ni(2)(H(0.67)bdt)(3)]·10.5H(2)O (4·10.5H(2)O) is isomorphous with a fourth cobalt phase, the previously reported [Co(2)(H(0.67)bat)(3)]·20H(2)O and exhibits a {M(tetrazolate)(3/2)}(∞) chain as the fundamental building block. The dense three-dimensional structure of [Zn(bdt)] (5) consists of {ZnN(4)}tetrahedra linked through bdt ligands bonding through N1,N3 donors at either tetrazolate terminus. In contrast to the hydrothermal synthesis of 1-5, the Cd(II) material (Me(2)NH(2))(3)[Cd(12)Cl(3)(btt)(8)(DMF)(12)]·xDMF·yMeOH (DMF = dimethylformamide; x = ca. 12, y = ca. 5) was prepared in DMF/methanol. The structure is constructed from the linking of {Cd(4)Cl(tetrazolate)(8)(DMF)(4)}(1-) secondary building units to produce an open-framework material exhibiting 66.5% void volume. The magnetic properties of the Co(II) series are reflective of the structural building units.