A Novel Zinc Coordination Polymer with Blue Photoluminescence

Layer diffusion of 3,5-bis(4-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole (Hbpt) in methanol on an aqueous solution of zinc nitrate and ammonium thiocyanate leads to a novel zinc coordination polymer (CP), Zn(Hbpt)(SCN)2 (1). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that CP 1 exhibits a novel 1D helical chain structure constructed by Hbpt ligands linking zinc cations with isothiocyanate anions as terminal ligands. Photoluminescence studies and DFT calculations indicate that the emission of 1 originates from the coupling of two types of ligand-to-ligand charge transfer. This study provides a fundamental insight into the nature of isothiocyanate anion on the photoluminescence and offers a pathway for designing luminescent materials.