Intercalation of pyrazine in layered copper nitroprusside: Synthesis, crystal structure and XPS study

Hybrid inorganic–organic solids form an interesting family of functional materials, where their functionalities are determined by both, the inorganic and organic building blocks. This study reports the intercalation of pyrazine in 2D copper nitroprusside, the crystal structure of the resulting hybrid solid and explores the scope of cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to shed light on its electronic structure. In this material, the pyrazine molecule appears coordinated to Cu atoms from neighboring layers, to form the columns in the resulting 3D porous framework. Its crystal structure was solved and refined from the corresponding XRD powder pattern. XPS data, recorded under cryogenic conditions, provided fine details on the electronic structure of this hybrid solid. The binding energy values for the ligand atoms and the involved metals show a definite correlation with the structural data and FT-IR spectra. When XPS spectra were recorded at room temperature, a significant sample decomposition was observed. Three possible mechanisms for the sample damage during the XPS experiment are considered. The hybrid material under study is representative of a wide series of nanoporous solids obtained by intercalation of organic pillars between 2D inorganic solids.