LAUSR

Abstract A new anionic coordination complex of Zn(II) containing the highly pre-organized ligand 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylate (PDA), (H 3 O) 2 [Zn(PDA) 2 ]·2CH 3 NO 2 ·2H 2 O·( 1 ), has been synthesized by solvothermal methods and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The last of these techniques revealed a coordination sphere around Zn(II) consisting of four N atoms and four O donors from two 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylate ligands which features a distorted dodecahedral geometry. The ionic coordination motifs in 1 are held together by intermolecular O H⋯O, N H⋯O and C H⋯O hydrogen bonding, C H···π and π−π stacking interactions, to produce an extended 2D architecture.