Comparison of two polymeric transition metal complexes with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate ions as bridging ligands, [Co(C8H4O4)(C12H8N2)(H2O)] and [Cu(C8H4O4)(C10H9N3)] • H2O

The title complexes, catena-poly[[aqua(1,10-phenanthroline- kappa(2)N,N')cobalt(II)]-mu-benzene-1,4-dicarboxylato-kappa(2)O(1):O-4], [Co(C8H4O4)(C12H8N2)(H2O)], (I), and catena-poly[[[(di-2-pyridyl-kappaN-amine)copper(II)]-mu-benzene-1,4-dicarboxylato- kappa(4)O(1), O-1' :O-4,O-4'] hydrate], [Cu(C8H4O4)(C10H9N3)].H2O, (II), take the form of zigzag chains, with the 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate ion acting as an amphimonodentate ligand in (I) and a bis-bidentate ligand in (II). The Co-II ion in (I) is five-coordinate and has a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. The Cu-II ion in (II) is in a very distorted octahedral 4+2 environment, with the octahedron elongated along the trans O-Cu-O bonds and with a trans O-Cu-O angle of only 137.22 (8)degrees.