Solvothermal Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Photocatalytic Properties of Iodoplumbate Hybrids with Nickel(II) Complex Templates

Crystal structures of the complexes containing macrocyclic cations [M(cyclam)]2+ (M = Ni, Zn) and tetra-iodido-cadmate(2-) anion

The asymmetric units of the isostructural compounds (1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-κ4 N)nickel(II) tetra-iodido-cadmate(II), [Ni(C10H24N4)][CdI4] (I), and tri-iodido-1κ3 I-μ-iodido-(1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-2κ4 N)cad-mium(II)zinc(II), [CdZnI4(C10H24N4)] (II) (C10H24N4 = 1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane, cyclam, L), consist of the centrosymmetric macrocyclic cation [M(L)]2+ [M = NiII or ZnII] with the metal ion lying on a twofold screw axis, and the tetra-iodo-cadmate anion [CdI4]2- located on the mirror plane. In I, the anion acts as an uncoordinated counter-ion while in II it is bound to the ZnII atom via one of the iodide atoms, thus forming an electroneutral heterobimetallic complex [Zn(L)(CdI4)]. The NiII and ZnII ions are coordinated in a square-planar manner by the four secondary N atoms of the macrocyclic ligand L, which adopts the most energetically stable trans-III conformation. The [CdI4]2- anions in I and II are structurally very similar and represent slightly deformed tetra-hedrons with average Cd-I bond lengths and I-Cd-I angles of ca 2.79 Å and 109.6°, respectively. The supra-molecular organization of the complexes under consideration in the crystals is very similar and is determined by the hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between the secondary amino groups of the ligand L in the [M(L)]2+ cations and iodide atoms of the [CdI4]2- anion. In particular, the alternating cations and anions form chains running along the b-axis direction that are arranged into di-periodic sheets oriented parallel to the (101) and (01) planes. Because both kinds of sheets are built from the same cations and anions, this feature provides the three-dimensional coherence of the crystals of I and II.

A new metal complex-templated silver iodobismuthate exhibiting photocurrent response and photocatalytic property

An organic-inorganic hybrid silver iodobismuthate characteristic of the infrequent [Ag₂BiI₆L₂] cluster (L = I or I₃) and with a unique Ag/Bi molar ratio (2/1), namely, [Zn(bipy)₃]₂Ag₂BiI₆(I)_1.355(I₃)_1.645 (bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine; 1), was solvothermally synthesized, and structurally, optically, and theoretically studied. Intriguingly, compound 1 exhibited semiconductor behavior with an optical band gap of 2.33 eV, which endowed it with excellent photoelectric and photocatalytic properties. Electronic structure calculations further revealed that the relative separate conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) in compound 1 may be responsible for the good optical activity. This study also includes the Hirshfeld surface analyses, thermogravimetric measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization.

Structural Diversity in 2,2'-[Naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide)-N,N'-diyl]-bis(ethylammonium) Iodoplumbates

Crystallization from solutions containing 2,2'-[naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide)-N,N'-diyl]-bis(ethylammonium) diiodide ((NDIC2)I₂) and PbI₂ has been investigated. Eight different materials are obtained, either by variation of crystallization conditions or by subsequent thermal or solvent-induced transformations. Crystal structures have been determined for five materials. [(NDIC2)₂Pb₅I₁₄(DMF)₂]·4DMF (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) (1), [(NDIC2)Pb₄I₁₀]·4DMF (3), [(NDIC2)Pb₂I₆]·4NMP (NMP = N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) (4), and [(NDIC2)Pb₂I₆]·2H₂O (5) form 1-dimensional (1D) chains consisting of PbI₆ (and, in the case of 1, PbI₅(DMF)) octahedra, either solely face-sharing or a mixture of face-sharing and vertex-sharing. The structure of [(NDIC₂)₃Pb₅I₁₆]·6NMP (2) contains 0D clusters; these consist of three PbI₆ octahedra and two unusually coordinated lead centers that exhibit three relatively short Pb-I bonds, two very long Pb-I contacts, and η²-coordination of an aromatic ring of NDIC2 to the lead. Close contacts between iodide ions and the imide rings of NDIC2 in four of the structures suggest that an iodide-to-NDIC2 charge-transfer interaction may be responsible for the observed red coloration of the materials. The optical and electrical properties of 1 have been studied; its onset of absorption is at 2.0 eV, and its conductivity was measured as 5.4 × 10^-5 ± 1.1 × 10^-5 S m^-1.

Semiconducting crystalline inorganic-organic hybrid metal halide nanochains

One-dimensional (1D) inorganic-organic metal halide hybrids at the molecular level, which can be considered as arrays of nanochains isolated by organic components, have shown remarkable optical and electric properties. This review summarizes their reported structural types and shows how to modify their band gaps and optical and electric properties.

Hybrid iodoplumbates with metal complexes: syntheses, crystal structures, band gaps and photoelectric properties

With the in situ-generated [Pb(MCP)₄]²⁺ (HMCP⁺ = 1-methyl-4-(carboxyl)pyridinium) or [M(phen)₃]²⁺ (M = Co, Fe and Ni; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) complexes as structural directing agents and charge-balancing ions, we solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized four new organic-inorganic hybrid iodoplumbates. Compound K₂[Pb(MCP)₄]Pb₃I₁₀ (1) represents the first K⁺ and [Pb(MCP)₄]²⁺ co-templated hybrid haloplumbate, and exhibits a curve-like anionic layer of [Pb₃I₁₀]_n^4n-. Compounds [M(phen)₃]Pb₂I₆·CH₃CN (M = Co (2), Fe (3) and Ni (4)) have isostructural phases, and feature a one-dimensional (1D) [Pb₂I₆]_n^2n- anionic chain characteristic of pyramid-like [PbI₅] units. The optical property studies show that compounds 1-4 exhibit semiconductor behaviors with the band gaps of 1.98-2.68 eV. In addition, the title compounds exhibited interesting photoelectrical responsive properties, with the photocurrent density in the order of 1 > 3 > 2 > 4. The thermal stabilities of the title compounds 1-4, as well as the theoretical band structure and density of states (DOS) of compounds 1 and 2 have also been studied.