KMnAg₃(CN)₆, a new triply interpenetrating network solid

Acta Cryst. (2003). C59, i21–i23

The designers of open-frame network crystals face the age-old conundrum that nature abhors the void, i.e., the network distorts to a denser form unless special precautions are taken during the crystal growth. However, if the bridging ligand has a strong propensity for staying straight, the system has yet another possibility: it can grow in the form of interpenetrating networks, such as in the title compound. This particular triply interpenetrating net has been seen in a few other salts, but never before with paramagnetic manganese(II) in the lattice. The exceptionally precise structure determination (R₁ = 1.2%, wR₂ = 3.2%) allowed for the unequivocal assignment of carbon vs. nitrogen atoms and the resolution of a symmetry ambiguity.