The solvent-templating effect as the driving factor that influences the formation of crystalline materials based on the stacking of metallocycles

A series of recrystallisations of a 1 : 1 CuCl2 : L (L = 1,4-bis[(2-methylimidazol-1-yl) methyl] benzene) mixture from a variety of common solvents has been undertaken in order to investigate the effect of solvent templation on the resulting crystal forms. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of eight new solvates of [CuCl2L](n) reveals the solvent dependent formation of either a discrete dinuclear metallocycle or a one-dimensional coordination polymer. Conformational flexibility of both the ligand and the metal - ligand bonds results in the ability of these compounds to form a variety of structures.