The investigation of magnetic materials with fascinating structures and unusual magnetic behavior has witnessed flourishing development. Transition-metal hydroxides are of particular significance because of their potential application in magnetic devices (as substitutes for traditional ferrite or nanometric magnetic memory units), and have been extensively explored. Even so, it is still a tremendous challenge for researchers to rationally design, precisely control, artfully modulate, and effectively re-assemble new transition-metal/hydroxide species (hydroxide-bridged clusters, chains, and layers). In the hydroxyl inorganic layers (such as Cu(OH)2, FeO(OH), Mg(OH)2, etc.), the hydroxide groups are present in m2 and m3 modes. To replace some of the hydroxide ligands with other bridging groups in order to alter the magnetic properties is still a challenge to chemists today. As we know, azide is one of the most studied ligands in magnetochemistry, and its complexes display exciting magnetic properties ranging from long-range ordering to SMM (single-molecule magnet) and SCM (single-chain magnet) behavior. Additionally, the magnetic interaction through an azide bridge can be easily predicted based on its bridging mode and the M-N-M angles. The most typical bridging modes are end-to-end (EE, m2-1,3) and end-on (EO, m2-1,1), usually resulting in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic coupling, respectively, but this greatly depends on the Cu-N-Cu angle for end-on azides. Azides can also bridge more than two ions in their EO mode; for instance, it can bridge three metal ions in a pyramidal fashion analogous to that of a m3-OH group. In view of azides being able to take both m2-1,1 and m3-1,1,1 bridging modes, it may replace some OH positions in the 2D inorganic layer, which could lead to different magnetic behavior. To avoid the inorganic layer collapsing or aggregating into a 3D solid, a second ligand is usually introduced into the system. Herein, phthalic acid (H2-pta) is our second ligand of choice. A Cu / N3 /OH /pta network could have a high negative charge and counterion will then be needed. Herein we report the synthesis of an unusual 2D N3-Cu -OH complex, [CuACHTUNGTRENNUNG(H2O)6]ACHTUNGTRENNUNG[{Cu2(N3)4/3-(OH) ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(pta)}6] (1). Indeed, our results show that the [Cu ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(H2O)6] 2+ complex ion from the CuACHTUNGTRENNUNG(NO3)2 aqueous solution may serve as a template for the [Cu24] macrocycles. The crystal structure of complex 1 (Figure 1) consists of a new anionic 2D layer network containing two Cu ions, one phthalic anion (in m4-O,O’,O’’,O’’’ bridging mode), one m3 hydroxyl anion, and =3 azide anions, which take m2-1,1 and m3-1,1,1 bridging modes (Figure S1). As can be seen in Figure 1 (top), Cu1 is five-coordinate with a distorted square-based pyramid CuN2O3 geometry formed by the coordination of two nitrogen atoms, from the m2-1,1and m31,1,1-azide anions (apical position) (Cu1 N1=2.000(5), Cu1 N4=2.287(3) ;), and three oxygen atoms, one from the m3 hydroxyl anion and two from phthalic anions (Cu1 O5=1.969(4), Cu1 O1=1.983(4), Cu1 O4=2.018(4) ;). The square-based pyramidal coordination sphere of Cu2 is CuNO4, in which the N atom is from a m2-1,1 azide anion (Cu2 N1A=1.972(5) ;), and the four oxygen atoms are from two m3 hydroxyl anions and two phthalic anions (one occupied the apical position) (Cu2 O5=1.954(4), Cu2 O5A=1.979(4), Cu2 O2=2.646, Cu2 O3=1.934(4) ;). Two hydroxyl anions in the m3 mode (Cu1-O5-Cu2=100.74, Cu1-O5-Cu2A=118.24, Cu2-O5-Cu2A=100.308) bridge [a] Y.-F. Zeng, X. Hu, J.-P. Zhao, B.-W. Hu, Dr. F.-C. Liu, Prof. X.-H. Bu Department of Chemistry Nankai University Tianjin 300071 (China) Fax: (+86)22-2350-2458 E-mail : buxh@nankai.edu.cn [b] Dr. E. C. SaCudo Departament de QuJmica InorgKnica Universitat de Barcelona Diagonal, 647, Barcelona (Spain) Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.200800068.