An Acentric, Three‐Dimensional Coordination Polymer: Synthesis and Structure of [Cu(pyrimidine)₂]BF₄

Coordination networks that mimic silicate mineral structures are formed by a new class of coordination polymers, which are accessible through the self-assembly of tetrahedral copper(I) cations and bent, bifunctional pyrimidine ligands. Thus, extended organometallic frameworks can be produced, which show optical activity (as quartz), or microporosity (as zeolites)…or both! The first example of such a framework is [Cu(pyrimidine)2]BF4 (depicted on the right), which can be described as a “stuffed feldspar”, and contains channels that house both BF ions and disordered solvent molecules.