Crystal Engineering with Modified 2‑Aminopurine and Group 12 Metal Ions

This communication describes the synthesis and structure of zinc, cadmium, and mercury complexes of modified N9-substituted 2-aminopurine (2AP) analogues. 2AP is an inherently fluorescent heterocyclic nucleobase with wide applications in biochemical reactions. Herein, we report a one-dimensional (1D) polymeric helical chain and discrete arrangements for zinc complexes [C₈H₁₁N₅Cl₂Zn] (<b>1</b>) and [C₁₂H₁₅N₅O₅Zn] (<b>2</b>), a 1D polymeric helical chain for a Cd complex [C₈H₁₁CdI₂N₅] (<b>3</b>), and a unique example of supported 2AP-Hg­(II) two-dimensional clusters [C₁₆H₂₁C_l6Hg₃N₁₀] (<b>4</b>). The photoluminescence properties of free ligand <b>L</b> and complexes <b>1</b>–<b>4</b> are also presented