The mechanical adaptability of a family of six one-dimensional crystalline coordination polymers (CPs) of cadmium ([CdX₂(3-X′py)₂]_n; 1: X = Br, X′ = Cl, 2: X = I, X′ = Cl, 3: X = I, X′ = Br, 4: X = Cl, X′ = I, 5: X = Br, X′ = I, and 6: X, X′ = I) to applied external force was examined, and a plethora of flexible responses was noticed. While two of the six CPs (4 and 6) were slightly elastic, the remaining four CPs (1–3 and 5) presented variable plastic deformation; three of these (1–3) displayed exceptional crystal flow, and one (2) demonstrated unprecedented ductility of crystalline metal–organic material. The feature was examined by theory and custom-designed experiments, and it was shown that specific and directional intermolecular interactions are not only the most influential structural feature in determining the type of mechanical responses (i.e., elastic vs plastic), with interlocking of adjacent molecules playing only a supportive role, but also an unavoidable tool for dialing-in a diversity of plastic responses in Cd(II) coordination polymers.

The advantages of microwave technology over conventionally conducted experiments are numerous. Some of them are reduction in reaction time, a higher degree of process control, repeatability, and work safety. Microwave synthesis routes require a complete description of the experimental details, instrumentation, and design program of a microwave oven used in the experiments. In this work, microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) particles from 0.1 M FeCl₃ solution in highly alkaline media with heating in a microwave oven at continuous microwave emission of 800 W at 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C for 20 min are presented. Also, the influence of the percentage of the addition of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on the composition, size, and shape of the final product was investigated. The samples precipitated at 150 °C formed a final product consisting of goethite (α-FeOOH) and hematite particles in contrast to the those precipitated at 200 °C and 250 °C where pure hematite phase was obtained. In these synthesis routes, the CTAB caused to slow down the rate of the goethite-to-hematite transformation process at temperatures at 200 °C but did not affect the transformation at 250 °C.

In order to develop transferable and practical avenues for the assembly of coordination complexes into architectures with specific dimensionality, a strategy utilizing ligands capable of simultaneous metal coordination and self-complementary hydrogen bonding is presented. The three ligands used, 2(1H)-pyrazinone, 4(3H)-pyrimidinone and 4(3H)-quinazolinone, consistently deliver the required synthetic vectors in a series of Cd^II coordination polymers, allowing for reproducible supramolecular synthesis that is insensitive to the different steric and geometric demands from potentially disruptive counterions. In all nine crystallographically characterized compounds presented here, directional intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds between ligands on adjacent complex building blocks drive the assembly and orientation of discrete building blocks into largely predictable topologies. Furthermore, whether the solids are prepared from solution or through liquid-assisted grinding, the structural outcome is the same, thus emphasizing the robustness of the synthetic protocol. The details of the molecular recognition events that take place in this series of compounds have been clearly delineated and rationalized in the context of calculated molecular electrostatic potential surfaces.