Temperature-Dependent Crystal Self-Assembly, Disassembly, and Reassembly Among Three Cadmium(II) Carboxylate-Phosphinates

A metastable three-dimensional cadmium(II) coordination polymer with (2-carboxyethyl)(phenyl)phosphinate (12) and 4,4'-bipyridine (bipy) as ligands, namely, [Cd(L)(bipy)(H2O)(2)] (1), can be converted to two new two-dimensional/ three-dimensional varieties under hydrothermal treatments at different temperatures, that is, [Cd(L)(bipy)] (2) and [Cd(L)(bipy)(0.5)]center dot 0.5H(2)O (3). Their syntheses, crystal structures, structural transformations, and luminescent properties are presented. In addition, 1 shows a second harmonic generation response that is similar to 0.3 tames that of KDP (KH2PO4).