Synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of two 1D coordination polymers containing Co2+ and Cu2+ ions and 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxylphenyl)benzene

•Slow diffusion is a powerful synthetic strategy to produce single crystals.•1,3,5-tris(4-carboxylphenyl)benzene contribute to produce porous structures with a great diverse of topologies.•The Co(II) ion is an interesting metal to produce molecular nanomagnets due to its orbital contribution to magnetic moment. Two 1D coordination polymers, {[Co(H3BTB)2(phen)](NO3)2}n (1) and {[Cu(HBTB)2(phen)] DMF}n (2), were synthesized through a slow diffusion reaction between the metal ions Co2+ or Cu2+, 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxylphenyl)benzene (H3BTB) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that both metal centers are involved in a distorted octahedral environment. As expected for a Cu2+ ion with a d9 configuration, a pronounced Jahn-Teller distortion is observed. FTIR, powder XRD, and thermogravimetric analysis were employed for the chemical characterization of the two complexes. CASSCF-NEVPT2 was used to calculate the axial magnetic anisotropy (D) for complex 1, and the results were almost perfectly consistent with the experimental measurements. The AC magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed field-induced single-ion magnet (SIM) behavior at low temperatures for 1. EPR studies of complex 2 indicated that the Cu2+ ions are essentially isolated. [Display omitted]