Ionothermal Design of Crystalline Halogeno(cyano)cuprate Family: Structure Diversity, Solid-State Luminescence, and Photocatalytic Performance.

A general preparative method for multifunctional halogeno(cyano)cuprate materials in ionic liquids is developed in this work. Under ionothermal conditions, alkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids serving as solvent, charge-compensating, and structure-directing agent, as well as reactant lead to 12 members of the novel hybrid halogeno(cyano)cuprate family with a general formula of [RRRIM][CuX(CN)] (RRRIM = alkylimidazolium cations, X = halide anions). X-ray single-crystal diffractions show that diverse inorganic halogeno(cyano)cuprate components vary from discrete complexes (1 and 2), one-dimensional (1D) chains (3-7), two-dimensional (2D) layer (8), to three-dimensional (3D) open frameworks (9-12). 1 and 2 are of zero-dimensional discrete structures containing triangular [CuX] anions. In complexes 3-7, pentagonal bipyramidal [CuX] units are bridged by CN groups to give 1D [CuX(CN)] inorganic chains, which are charge-balanced by the surrounded alkylimidazolium cations. 2D inorganic [CuClI(CN)] layer in complex 8 is alternately packed with [VMIM] organic cations. In complex 9, left- and right-handed Cu-CN helical chains connect each other to give a 3D open framework, which are further entrapped by 1D zigzag Cu-CN chains and [PMIM] cations. Diverse unique Cu(I) atoms and cyanide or halide bridging groups in 10, 11, and 12 are extended into 3D anionic open frameworks with 1D channels, which are occupied by alkylimidazolium cations. For all hybrid halogeno(cyano)cuprate complexes, the extensively existing C-H···X or C-H···π hydrogen bonds help to stabilize the ultimate supramolecular packing structures. Notably, the distances between adjacent Cu(I) centers range from 2.420(2) to 2.989(2) Å in all polymeric frameworks, which indicate strong Cu···Cu interactions. Thanks to the cooperation of conjugate π electron cyanide systems with halide ions and/or Cu···Cu interactions, compounds 1-12 all demonstrate strong solid-state photoluminescence and semiconducting performance. Specially, hybrid halogeno(cyano)cuprates reported herein first exhibit excellent photocatalytic degradation of organic dye. To the best of our knowledge, fewer than 10 crystalline halogeno(cyano)cuprate compounds were obtained before this work, although different synthetic routes have been involved. Clearly, the discovery of this large hybrid material family under ionothermal conditions is important for the further development of novel functional halogeno(cyano) filled-shell d metal crystalline materials.