Chromophore containing bipyridyl ligands. Part 1: supramolecular solid-state structure of Ag(I) complexes

The solid-state structures of a series of azine or azo chromophore containing bipyridyl ligand complexes of Ag(I) salts have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The supramolecular structures are dominated by one-dimensional chains formed through pyridyl–Ag–pyridyl bonding, but the packing of these chains through non-covalent intermolecular interactions is unpredictable. Ag⋯anion interactions are shown to be important, especially for nitrate and perchlorate species, but these may be supported or replaced by Ag⋯Ag, Ag⋯solvent, Ag⋯azine or Ag⋯ π contacts. The molecular structures of the ligands show little alteration on complex formation, except for the AgNO3 complex of N,N′-bis-pyridin-4-ylmethylene-hydrazine where the normally planar azine ligand adopts a twisted geometry.