An Unprecedented Octadecanuclear Copper(II) Pyrazolate–Phosphonate Nanocage: Synthetic, Structural, Magnetic, and Mechanistic Study

Utilization of a trinuclear Cu-pyrazolate inorganic motif to build multifunctional MOFs

The current work aims to generate multifunctional MOFs by incorporating a well-known inorganic motif, a trinuclear Cu-pyrazolate [Cu3(μ3-OH)(μ-Pyz)3] (T-CuP) unit, as a node of the network. Accordingly, we report herein the synthesis and properties of five new compounds using five V-shaped dicarboxylic acids as auxiliary ligands. The structural features are consistent with the theme of grafting T-CuP units as nodal points of architectures whose chassis are primarily made of bent acids. V-shaped acids also induce a helical nature inside resulting frameworks. Beside their structural and physical features, T-CuP unit-based MOFs also vindicate our thematic approach of the trinuclear Cu-pyrazolate unit imparting specific physicochemical properties, such as magnetic, electrical, and catalytic properties, to resultant MOFs. The MOFs show excellent catalytic properties in reducing 4-nitrophenol, which could be attributed to the porous nature of the network along with the presence of metal centres with unsaturated coordination within the T-CuP unit. Furthermore, efficient photocatalytic degradation of harmful organic dyes confirms their importance for environmental remediation. The presence of a T-CuP unit and various functional groups also make some of the MOFs suitable candidates for electrical applications, which is indeed manifested in encouraging proton conductivity. Finally, the potential of current MOFs, fitted with a magnetically important trinuclear Cu-pyrazolate motif, as magnetic materials has also been thoroughly investigated.

Capped Nanojars: Synthesis, Solution and Solid-State Characterization, and Atmospheric CO2 Sequestration by Selective Binding of Carbonate

Nanojars are a class of supramolecular anion-incarcerating coordination complexes that self-assemble from Cu²⁺ ions, pyrazole, and a strong base in the presence of highly hydrophilic anions. In this work, we show that if the strong base (e.g., NaOH or Bu₄NOH) is replaced by a weak base such as a trialkylamine, capped nanojars of the formula [{Cu₃(μ₃-OH)(μ-pz)₃L₃}CO₃⊂{Cu(μ-OH)(μ-pz)}_n] (pz = pyrazolate anion; L = neutral donor molecule; n = 27-31) are obtained instead of the conventional nanojars. Yet, to obtain capped nanojars, the conjugate acid side product originating from the weak base must be separated by transferring it to water either by precipitation of the water-insoluble capped nanojars or by liquid-liquid extraction. Full characterization using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-vis and variable-temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopy in solution, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and solubility studies in the solid state reveals similarities as well as drastic differences between capped nanojars and nanojars lacking the [Cu₃(μ₃-OH)(μ-pz)₃L₃]²⁺ cap. Acid-base reactivity studies demonstrate that capped nanojars are intermediates in the pH-controlled assembly-disassembly of nanojars. During the self-assembly of capped nanojars, CO₂ is selectively sequestered from air in the presence of other atmospheric gases and converted to carbonate, the binding of which is selective in the presence of NO₃^-, ClO₄^-, BF₄^-, Cl^-, and Br^- ions.

The first coordination compound of deprotonated 2-bromo-nicotinic acid: crystal structure of a dinuclear paddle-wheel copper(II) complex

A copper(II) dimer with the deprotonated anion of 2-bromo-nicotinic acid (2-BrnicH), namely, tetrakis(μ-2-bromonicotinato-κ2 O:O')bis[aquacopper(-II)](Cu-Cu), [Cu2(H2O)2(C6H3BrNO2)4] or [Cu2(H2O)2(2-Brnic)4], (1), was prepared by the reaction of copper(II) chloride dihydrate and 2-bromo-nicotinic acid in water. The copper(II) ion in 1 has a distorted square-pyramidal coordination environment, achieved by four carboxyl-ate O atoms in the basal plane and the water mol-ecule in the apical position. The pair of symmetry-related copper(II) ions are connected into a centrosymmetric paddle-wheel dinuclear cluster [Cu⋯Cu = 2.6470 (11) Å] via four O,O'-bridging 2-bromo-nicotinate ligands in the syn-syn coordination mode. In the extended structure of 1, the cluster mol-ecules are assembled into an infinite two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network lying parallel to the (001) plane via strong O-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, leading to the formation of various hydrogen-bond ring motifs: dimeric R 2 2(8) and R 2 2(16) loops and a tetra-meric R 4 4(16) loop. The Hirshfeld surface analysis was also performed in order to better illustrate the nature and abundance of the inter-molecular contacts in the structure of 1.

A systematic investigation of structural transformation in a copper pyrazolato system: a case study

Dissolution-recrystallization structural transformation (DRST) is a powerful tool to unravel unequivocally the mechanism of dynamic conversion processes, based on the structures of the initial reactants, final products and sometimes intermediates isolated from the reaction mixture. Herein, we illustrate the details of the conversion processes of (CuIpz)3 into [CuII(OH)pz]6 (pzH = 4-chloro-3,5-diphenylpyrazole) through DRSTs. Based on crystal structure determination and spectroscopic methods, the most encountered species, (CuIpz)3, is in equilibrium with (CuIpz)4 in solution with the tetramer becoming dominant at low temperature, indicating an entropy-controlled conversion between these two structural isomers. The CuI trimer/tetramer in solution further experiences an oxidation if exposed to the open air, resulting in the formation of a pentanuclear mixed-valence intermediate CuI3CuII2(OMe)2pz5 which can be isolated as single crystals at -20 °C and has been structurally characterized for the first time. The final product isolated from the solution is the fully oxidized hexanuclear [CuII(OMe)pz]6, which is easily transformed into [CuII(OH)pz]6 in the presence of humidity.

Six novel coordination polymers based on the 5-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)isophthalic acid ligand: structures, luminescence, and magnetic properties

Six coordination polymers containing clusters or chains have been synthesized by a combination of one tetrazolate-isophthalate ligand and N-donor ligands. Their structures, magnetic properties and luminescence properties were discussed in detail.

Phosphonate Based High Nuclearity Magnetic Cages

Transition metal based high nuclearity molecular magnetic cages are a very important class of compounds owing to their potential applications in fabricating new generation molecular magnets such as single molecular magnets, magnetic refrigerants, etc. Most of the reported polynuclear cages contain carboxylates or alkoxides as ligands. However, the binding ability of phosphonates with transition metal ions is stronger than the carboxylates or alkoxides. The presence of three oxygen donor sites enables phosphonates to bridge up to nine metal centers simultaneously. But very few phosphonate based transition metal cages were reported in the literature until recently, mainly because of synthetic difficulties, propensity to result in layered compounds, and also their poor crystalline properties. Accordingly, various synthetic strategies have been followed by several groups in order to overcome such synthetic difficulties. These strategies mainly include use of small preformed metal precursors, proper choice of coligands along with the phosphonate ligands, and use of sterically hindered bulky phosphonate ligands. Currently, the phosphonate system offers a library of high nuclearity transition metal and mixed metal (3d-4f) cages with aesthetically pleasing structures and interesting magnetic properties. This Account is in the form of a research landscape on our efforts to synthesize and characterize new types of phosphonate based high nuclearity paramagnetic transition metal cages. We quite often experienced synthetic difficulties with such versatile systems in assembling high nuclearity metal cages. Few methods have been emphasized for the self-assembly of phosphonate systems with suitable transition metal ions in achieving high nuclearity. We highlighted our journey from 2005 until today for phosphonate based high nuclearity transition metal cages with V(IV/V), Mn(II/III), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) metal ions and their magnetic properties. We observed that slight changes in stoichiometry, reaction conditions, and presence or absence of coligand played crucial roles in determining the final structure of these complexes. Most of the complexes included are regular in geometry with a dense arrangement of the above-mentioned metal centers in a confined space, and a few of them also resemble regular polygonal solids (Archimedean and Platonic). Since there needs to be a historical approach for a comparative study, significant research output reported by other groups is also compared in brief to ensure the potential of phosphonate ligands in synthesizing high nuclearity magnetic cages.

Speciation of metal phosphonates with the assistance of weak interactions

By employing an aromatic methyl substituted V-shaped diphosphonic acid as a ligand, a series of metal diphosphonates, namely [Cu3(HL)2(H2O)2][(H2O)2] (1), [Cu(H2L)(pyz)(H2O)2][(H2O)2] (2), [Cu(H2L)(2,2'-bipy)] (3), [Cu(H2L)(4,4'-bipy)(H2O)2] (4), [Zn(H2L)(2,2'-bipy)] (5) and [Cd(H2L)(2,2'-bipy)(H2O)][(H2O)6] (6), have been synthesized. The structural studies reveal that these compounds exhibit diverse crystal structures. The introduction of the methyl group and pyridine derived auxiliary ligands results in the formation of plenty of C-HO, C-Hπ and ππ interactions, which contribute to the crystallization of metal diphosphonates. It was found that the Zn and Cd containing compounds showed intense intraligand emissions.

Linking Cr₃ triangles through phosphonates and lanthanides: synthetic, structural, magnetic and EPR studies

The preparation and structural characterisation of five 3d-4f mixed metal phosphonate cages with general formula [Cr(III)6Ln(III)2(μ3-O)2(H2O)2(O3P(t)Bu)4(O2C(t)Bu)12(HO(i)Bu)2((i)PrNH2)2] where Ln(III) = La, 1; Tb, 3; Dy, 4; Ho, 5 and [Cr(III)6Gd(III)2(μ3-O)2(H2O)2(O3P(t)Bu)4(O2C(t)Bu)12(HO(i)Bu)4] (2) are reported. The structure contains two oxo-centred {Cr3} triangles, bridged by phosphonates and lanthanides. The magnetic behaviour of 1 has been modelled as two non-interacting isosceles triangles, involving two antiferromagnetic interactions (J1 = -8.8 cm(-1)) with a smaller ferromagnetic interaction for the unique edge of the triangle (J2 = +1.3 cm(-1)) giving an isolated S = 3/2 ground state per triangle. The quartet ground state has been proven through simulation of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra obtained at the X- and Q-band. EPR simulations have also resulted in the introduction of small single-ion Zero Field Splitting (ZFS) parameters D = ±0.19 cm(-1) and rhombic term E = ±0.02 cm(-1), which are consistent with strong exchange limit calculations for an isolated S = 3/2 (D = ±0.22 and E = ±0.018 cm(-1)).

Solvent-controlled structural diversity observed in three Cu(ii) MOFs with a 2,2′-dinitro-biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate ligand: synthesis, structures and magnetism

Three solvent-dependent 3D Cu^II-based MOFs with diverse topology net have been successfully separated under controllable solvothermal conditions and magnetic studies suggest homo-spin topological ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions.

Self-assembly of two high-nuclearity manganese calixarene-phosphonate clusters: diamond-like Mn16 and drum-like Mn14

Variation of the phosphonic acid “converts” a tetradecanuclear drum-like MnII14 cluster (1) into a hexadecanuclear diamond-like MnII16 cluster (2).

A one-pot diastereoselective self assembly of C-stereogenic copper(I) diphosphine clusters

C-chirogenic diphosphine-based clusters with 8-membered "chairlike" Cu4Cl4L2 and 12-membered "drumlike" Cu6Cl6L3 (L = diphosphine) frameworks were prepared in one-pot syntheses from chiral diphosphines, which were generated in situ via the double hydrophosphination reaction in excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivity. Excellent control over the final molecular architecture of the cluster (drum vs chair) could be achieved by the judicious selection of the source of the copper atoms employed in the synthetic protocol. Each cluster was characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, (1)H, (13)C, and (31)P{(1)H} NMR spectroscopy. The synthesized clusters were found to exhibit catalytic activity in the hydroboration reaction of α,β-unsaturated enones with excellent yields albeit with low enantioselectivity.

Molecular and polymeric zinc(II) phosphonates: isolation of an octanuclear ellipsoidal ensemble

The reaction of zinc(II) perchlorate with trichloromethyl phosphonic acid at room temperature afforded, upon crystallization, a two-dimensional layered coordination polymer possessing a dinuclear repeat unit, [{Zn2(Cl3CPO3)2(H2O)3}·1.5H2O]n (1). Modification of the above reaction by involving a co-ligand afforded the tetranuclear complex, [{Zn4(η(1)-DMPzH)6(Cl3C-PO3)2}(μ-OH)2(ClO4)2] (2). The molecular structure of 2 reveals that the tetranuclear core is non-planar and consists of three contiguous inorganic rings which include one 8-membered Zn2P2O4 ring and two six-membered Zn2PO3 rings. Replacement of Zn(ClO4)2·6H2O with ZnCl2 under the same reaction conditions that afforded 2 allowed the formation of the dinuclear complex [{(ZnCl)2(η(2)-Pz)2(Cl3CPO3)}(Et3NH)2] (3). 3 possesses a bicyclic core containing a seven-membered Zn2N2O2P ring. In 3, the phosphoryl oxygen atom (P=O) is involved in a bifurcated hydrogen bonding interaction with the triethylammonium cation. The reaction of ZnCl2 and 2,3,5,6-(Me)4C6HCH2PO3H2 afforded the octanuclear complex [Zn8(Cl)6{2,3,5,6-(Me)4C6HCH2PO3}6(Et3N)2](Et3NH)2]·2n-hexane·3H2O (4). The core of 4 is ellipsoid-shaped with the end-end polar distance (C-C) being ~20 Å.

A perception of ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions in a two dimensional Ni(ii) heterochiral coordination polymer showing unusual CO2 uptake behavior

A robust 2D heterochiral Ni(ii) coordination polymer is reported which shows ferro-, antiferromagnetic interactions and unusual CO₂ uptake behavior.