Crystal Growth of Extended Solids by Nonaqueous Gel Diffusion

The preparation of the extended coordination solid, Zn(HBTC)(NC5H5)2·C2H5OH, from Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3BTC) in the presence of pyridine and ethanol yields a microcrystalline material containing no appropriate speciments for single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. However, crystals of up to 0.5 mm in size can be obtained by employing nonaqueous poly(ethylene oxide) gel as a diffusion and reaction medium.