[Li(H
2O)M(N
2H
3CO
2)
3]·0.5H
2O, M = Ni (
1) and Co (
2), has been synthesized in moderate yield fromthe correspon
ding metal salts and hydrazinecarboxylate anion, N
2H
3CO
2-, prepared by mixing N
2H
4·H
2O and dry ice. Both the compounds crystallized in the chiral space group
P2
1 and have interesting 2Dbilayer network structures in the solid state comprising fused helical coordination polymers with extensivehydrogen bon
ding. Samples
1 and
2 exhibited paramagnetism, as shown by the variable temperaturemagnetic measurements. The calculated magnetic moments were 2.82 and 4.39
B for
1 and
2, respectively.These two compounds have been investigated as single precursors for layered materials LiMO
2, M = Niand Co. Pyrolysis of
1 and
2 yields LiNiO
2 and LiCoO
2 at 700
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C in an oxygen atmosphere and at
T >700
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C in air, respectively. They were characterized by powder XRD, Rietveld refinement, and SEM.Cathodic properties of LiMO
2 have been evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling up to 20 cycles in the voltage ranges, 2.5-4.3 and 2.5-4.5 V vs Li metal. Results arein tune with those reported in the literature, thereby indicating that
1 and
2 are excellent single-sourceprecursors for obtaining electrochemically active battery materials.