Salting‐Out Approach (SOAP) for the Synthesis of Nickel‐Based Coordination Polymer Nanorods from a Dicyanamide Ionic Liquid

1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (emim dca) was able to form Ni-based coordination polymers where dca served as the bridging ligand with the postulate that emim was secondarily coordinated in the pores of the framework. Formation of the coordination polymer (CP) was accomplished by using a salting-out approach (SOAP) with a saturated solution of lithium chloride (LiCl) as a mineralizer. The CP was thermo-oxidatively stable up to 400 degrees C and displayed a nanorod-like morphology. The rod-like structures tended to stack in bundles. The microstructure of the Ni emim dca CP bore similarity to the rutile-related framework of Ni(dca)(2). However, the Ni emim dca CP was chemically distinguishable from Ni(dca)(2) because of the presence of emim. Though the Ni emim dca CP was thermally stable below 400 degrees C, there appeared to be a thermal activation of the compound, likely through the nitrile groups. The activation of the nitrile groups is an indicator of potential reactivity of the CP.