Mixed-Ligand Approach to Design of Heterometallic Single-Source Precursors with Discrete Molecular Structure

The use of mixed-metal single source precursors for the synthesis of complex metal oxides

This Feature Article highlights the use of mixed-metal single source precursors to directly access useful complex metal oxide materials.

Expanding the Structural Motif Landscape of Heterometallic β-Diketonates: Congruently Melting Ionic Solids

The first example of ionic β-diketonates in which both the cation and anion are octahedral coordinatively saturated metal diketonate moieties are reported. Heterometallic tin-transition-metal heteroleptic diketonates were obtained through solid-state redox reactions and are formulated as {[Sn^IV(thd)₃]⁺[M^II(hfac)₃]^-} (M^II = Mn (1), Fe (2), Co (3); thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate, hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate). X-ray single-crystal structural investigations along with DART mass spectrometry, multinuclear NMR, and magnetic susceptibility measurements have been used to confirm an assignment of metal oxidation states in compounds 1-3. Ionic compounds were found to melt congruently at temperatures below the decomposition point. As such, they represent prospective materials that can be utilized as ionic liquids as well as reagents for the soft transfer of diketonate ligands. An unexpected volatility of ionic compounds 1-3 was proposed to occur through a transport reaction, in which the transport agent is one of the products of their partial decomposition in the gas or condensed phase.

Mixed-valent, heteroleptic homometallic diketonates as templates for the design of volatile heterometallic precursors

A novel series of mixed-valent, heteroleptic transition metal diketonates that can be utilized as prospective single-source precursors for the low-temperature preparation of oxide materials are reported. The first mixed-valent iron β-diketonates with different FeIII/FeII ratios have been synthesized by applying the mixed-ligand approach. Based on nearly quantitative reaction yields and analysis of iron-oxygen bonds, these compounds were formulated as [FeIII(acac)3][FeII(hfac)2] (1) and [FeII(hfac)2][FeIII(acac)3][FeII(hfac)2] (2). In the above heteroleptic complexes, the Lewis acidic, coordinatively unsaturated FeII centers chelated by two hfac (hexafluoroacetylacetonate) ligands with electron-withdrawing substituents maintain bridging interactions with oxygen atoms of electron-donating acac (acetylacetonate) groups that chelate the neighboring FeIII atoms. Switching the ligands on FeIII and FeII atoms in starting reagents resulted in the instant ligand exchange between iron centers and in yet another polynuclear homometallic diketonate [FeII(hfac)2][FeIII(acac)2(hfac)][FeII(hfac)2] (3) that adheres to the same bonding pattern as in complexes 1 and 2. The proposed synthetic methodology has been extended to design heterometallic diketonates with different M : M' ratios. Homometallic parent molecules have been used as templates to obtain heterometallic mixed-valent [FeIII(acac)3][MnII(hfac)2] (4) and [NiII(hfac)2][FeIII(acac)3][NiII(hfac)2] (5) complexes. The combination of two different diketonate ligands with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents was found to be crucial for maintaining the above mixed-valent heterometallic assemblies. Theoretical investigation of two possible "isomers", [FeIII(acac)3][MnII(hfac)2] (4) and [MnIII(acac)3][FeII(hfac)2] (4') provided an additional support for the metal site assignment giving a preference of 9.78 kcal mol-1 for the molecule 4. Heterometallic complexes obtained in the course of this study have been found to act as effective single-source precursors for the synthesis of mixed-transition metal oxide materials M x M'2-xO3 and M x M'1-xO. The title highly volatile precursors can be used for the low-temperature preparation of both amorphous and crystalline heterometallic oxides in the form of thin films or nanosized particles that are known to operate as efficient catalysts in oxygen evolution reaction.