Pair of chiral molecular ladders and successive hydration in single-crystal-to-single-crystal mode

Unusual successive two-step crystallization of a pair of chiral coordination polymers was carried out. Self-assembly of Zn(NO 3 ) 2 with a pair of chiral C 3 -symmetric tridentate N-donor ligands (1 S ,2 R -L and 1 R ,2 S -L) produces single crystals consisting of chiral enantiomeric 1D ladder coordination polymers, CH 2 Cl 2 ·2CH 3 CN@[Zn 3 (NO 3 ) 6 (1 S ,2 R -L) 2 ] and CH 2 Cl 2 ·2CH 3 CN@[Zn 3 (NO 3 ) 6 (1 R ,2 S -L) 2 ], after which the single crystals are transformed into new crystals in their hydrated forms, 2CH 3 CN@[Zn 3 (NO 3 ) 6 (1 S ,2 R -L) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] and 2CH 3 CN@[Zn 3 (NO 3 ) 6 (1 R ,2 S -L) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ], respectively, under the moisture condition, in the single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) mode. The crystals consist of hexagonally packed chiral 1D coordination polymers in an enantiomeric arrangement, and their hydration shows a subtle difference depending on the chirality. Self-assembly of Zn(NO 3 ) 2 with a pair of new tridentate chiral Ls produced a pair of chiral ladder-type 1D coordination polymers, where crystals were transformed into different hydrated products of zigzag 1Ds depending on chirality in the SCSC mode.