Regulating electrical conductivity and Schottky nature of d10 metal ion-based nanoarchitectonics in coordination polymers†

Coordination polymers (CPs) with high electrical conductivity have potential applications in electronic devices, sensors and energy storage systems. Herein, we present a Cd(II)-based two-dimensional (2D) CP [Cd₂(adp)₂(4-nvp)₄(H₂O)]·(H₂O)₇ [CP1; H₂adp = adipic acid and 4-nvp = 4-(1-naphthylvinyl)pyridine] and a Zn(II) based one-dimensional (1D) CP [Zn₂(adp)(4-nvp)₂(H₂O)(μ₃-OH)]·(H₂O)·(NO₃) (CP2) that exhibit electrical conductivity in the semiconducting regime and create a Schottky barrier diode (SBD) at the metal–semiconductor (MS) junction. However, CP1 shows higher conductivity as compared to CP2, which relates to the better orbital overlap of larger Cd(II) ions in CP1, providing a conjugation pathway for potent charge transport. These results are well-validated by theoretical prediction via density functional theory (DFT) computation based on band gap calculation. Such materials with semiconducting properties may pave the way for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices.