Relationship between structure, fluxionality and racemization activity in organometallic derivatives of polyoxometalates

Reactivity of Organoiridium Tungsten Oxide Clusters with Transition Metal Aquo Cations

Organometallic-polyoxometalate (POM) complexes form a unique class of molecular organometallic oxides characterized by the dynamic behavior of the organometallic cations. Herein, we investigated the reactivity of Cp*Ir-octatungstate clusters (where Cp* represents pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, C5Me5-) with Werner-type transition-metal aquo cations. The addition of Ag+, Co2+, Ni2+, and M3+ (M = Cr, Fe, or In) cations to the aqueous solution of Cp*Ir-octatungstate clusters resulted in the formation of [{Ag(OH2)2}2{Cp*Ir(OH2)}2{Cp*IrW3O12(OH)}2(WO2)2] (1), Co1.5K0.8Na0.2[{trans-Co(OH2)2}{Cp*IrW3O12(OH)}2(WO2)1.3{cis-Co(OH2)2}0.7] (2-Co), Ni0.2K1.4Na0.2[{Ni(OH2)4}2{Cp*IrW3O12(OH)}2(WO2)1.1{cis-Ni(OH2)2}0.9] (2-Ni), and [{M(OH2)4}2{Cp*IrW3O12(OH)}2{cis-M(OH2)2}2](NO3)2 (M = Cr, 3-Cr; Fe, 3-Fe; or In, 3-In), respectively. All clusters share the same cubane-type {Cp*IrW3O12(OH)}5- building block, representing the first examples of organoiridium-POMs functionalized by transition-metal aquo cations. These compounds are insoluble in water, facilitating the evaluation of their heterogeneous water-oxidation properties. Notably, 2-Co generates the highest catalytic water oxidation current. This work provides a new synthetic method to introduce metal-aquo complexes on an organometallic oxide cluster, producing multimetallic molecules that model the catalytic sites of complex oxides.

Molar-Ratio-Dependent Coordination Assembly of Organoiridium(III)-Octatungstate Complexes in Aqueous Solution

We scrutinized the speciation of Cp*Ir-containing tungsten oxide clusters (Cp* is pentamethylcyclopentadienyl anion) in aqueous mixtures of [(Cp*IrCl)₂(μ-Cl)₂] and Na₂WO₄ in varying molar ratios. ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revealed the formation of three distinct Cp*Ir-polyoxotungstate species in the reaction solution, and they were isolated as Na₄[(Cp*Ir)₂(μ-OH)₃]₂[(Cp*Ir)₂H₂W₈O₃₀] (1), [(Cp*Ir)₂(μ-OH)₃]₂[(Cp*Ir)₂{Cp*Ir(OH₂)}₂H₂W₈O₃₀] (2), and [(Cp*Ir)₂{Cp*Ir(OH₂)}₂{Cp*Ir(OH₂)₂}₂H₂W₈O₃₀](NO₃)₂ (3) from the mixtures in which iridium concentration is less than, equal to, and more than the tungsten concentration, respectively. These results show the octatungstate [H₂W₈O₃₀]^10- anion is the major polyoxotungstate species in the presence of {Cp*Ir}²⁺ cations, and it has high nucleophilicity enough to bind up to six {Cp*Ir}²⁺ cations on its surfaces producing a cationic Cp*Ir-octatungstate complex. The octatungstate anion was also generated from the reaction of [(Cp*IrCl)₂(μ-Cl)₂] and methylammonium paratungstate-B, (CH₃NH₃)₁₀[H₂W₁₂O₄₂], and was isolated as a methylamine-coordinated complex (CH₃NH₃)₂[(Cp*Ir)₂{Cp*Ir(NH₂CH₃)}₂H₂W₈O₃₀] (4), indicating {Cp*Ir}²⁺ cations function as a structure-directing agent that converts tungsten species into octatungstate anions in aqueous solution. In addition, the coordination environment of {Cp*Ir}²⁺ can be further modified by coordination with pyridine forming [{Cp*Ir(NC₅H₅)}₂(μ-OH)₂][(Cp*Ir)₂{Cp*Ir(NC₅H₅)}₂H₂W₈O₃₀] (5).

Synthesis and reactivity of {Ru(p-cymene)}2+derivatives of [Nb6O19]8−: a rational approach towards fluxional organometallic derivatives of polyoxometalates

Three {Ru(p-cym)}(2+) (p-cym = p-cymene) derivatives of [Nb(6)O(19)](8-)-[Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}](6-) (Nb(6)Ru(1)), trans-[Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}(2)](4-) (t-Nb6Ru2), and [Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}(4)] (Nb(6)Ru(4))--have been synthesized in water by reaction between [Ru(p-cym)Cl(2)](2) and the hexaniobate. In the solid state, Nb(6)Ru(1) and Nb(6)Ru(4) have been characterized by IR and EDX spectroscopies, whereas t-Nb(6)Ru(2) has been characterized by IR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (crystal data for K(4)-trans-[Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}(2)].14H(2)O (K(4)-t-Nb(6)Ru(2).14H(2)O). In solution, all compounds were characterized by (1)H NMR and ESI mass spectrometry analyses, and Nb(6)Ru(1) was also analyzed by (17)O NMR. These studies allowed a comparison of the differences in behaviour of the three complexes in water: Nb(6)Ru(1) is particularly stable, Nb(6)Ru(4) decomposes by loss of {Ru(p-cym)}(2+) fragments, and trans-[Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}(2)](4-) isomerizes into cis-[Nb(6)O(19){Ru(p-cym)}(2)](4-). A rational mechanism for the isomerisation of t-Nb(6)Ru(2) is proposed on the basis of a kinetic study.