A Charge-Transfer Salt Based on Ferrocene/Ferrocenium Pairs and Keggin-Type Polyoxometalates

Assembled Structures and Electrical Conductivities of Salts Comprised of Cationic Sandwich Complexes and Polyoxometalates

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are recognized for their diverse structures and catalytic properties, yet their organometallic salts have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we synthesized salts of a Keggin-type POM with cationic sandwich complexes featuring various substituents, [X]2[SMo12O40] [X = Ru(C5H5)(C6H5R); R = H (1a), Me (1b), Bu (1c)], [Co(C5H5)2 (2), and Co(C5Me5)2 (3)]. These salts exhibited similar structural characteristics, with each anion surrounded by 10 cations, forming two-dimensional sheet arrangements through O···O anion-anion contacts, except for the salt of 1c, which exhibited one-dimensional contact owing to the larger cation substituent. Additionally, [2](THA)[Mo6O19], [3]2[Mo6O19], and [3](THA)[SMo12O40], containing the Lindqvist-type POM [Mo6O19] and/or tetrahexylammonium (THA) cation, were obtained, with the packing structure of [3]2[Mo6O19] closely resembling that of [X]2[SMo12O40]. Solvate crystals of [1a]3[PMo12O40] were also prepared. [1a]2[SMo12O40] exhibits an electrical conductivity σ of 1.4 × 10-7 S cm-1 at 373 K, which is 2 orders of magnitude higher than those of (THA)2[SMo12O40] and [1a]PF6.

Triple the fun: tris(ferrocenyl)arene-based gold(i) complexes for redox-switchable catalysis

The modular syntheses of C₃-symmetric tris(ferrocenyl)arene-based tris-phosphanes and their homotrinuclear gold(i) complexes are reported. Choosing the arene core allows fine-tuning of the exact oxidation potentials and thus tailoring of the electrochemical response. The tris[chloridogold(i)] complexes were investigated in the catalytic ring-closing isomerisation of N-(2-propyn-1-yl)benzamide, showing cooperative behaviour vs. a mononuclear chloridogold(i) complex. Adding one, two, or three equivalents of 1,1′-diacetylferrocenium[tetrakis(perfluoro-tert-butoxy)aluminate] as an oxidant during the catalytic reaction (in situ) resulted in a distinct, stepwise influence on the resulting catalytic rates. Isolation of the oxidised species is possible, and using them as (pre-)catalysts (ex situ oxidation) confirmed the activity trend. Proving the intactness of the P–Au–Cl motif during oxidation, the tri-oxidised benzene-based complex has been structurally characterised.

Trinuclear gold(i) complexes of C₃-symmetric tris(ferrocenyl)arene-based tris-phosphanes with four accessible oxidation states catalyse the ring-closing isomerisation of N-(2-propyn-1-yl)benzamide with different rates depending on their redox state.

Supramolecular networks supported by the anion...π linkage of Keggin-type heteropolyoxotungstates

Anion...π interactions are newly recognized weak supramolecular forces which are relevant to many types of electron-deficient aromatic substrates. Being less competitive with respect to conventional hydrogen bonding, anion...π interactions are only rarely considered as a crystal-structure-defining factor. Their significance dramatically increases for polyoxometalate (POM) species, which offer extended oxide surfaces for maintaining dense aromatic/inorganic stacks. The structures of tetrakis(caffeinium) μ₁₂-silicato-tetracosa-μ₂-oxido-dodecaoxidododecatungsten trihydrate, (C₈H₁₁N₄O₂)₄[SiW₁₂O₄₀]·3H₂O, (1), and tris(theobrominium) μ₁₂-phosphato-tetracosa-μ₂-oxido-dodecaoxidododecatungsten ethanol sesquisolvate, (C₇H₉N₄O₂)₃[PW₁₂O₄₀]·1.5C₂H₅OH, (2), support the utility of anion...π interactions as a special kind of supramolecular synthon controlling the structures of ionic lattices. Both caffeinium [(HCaf)⁺ in (1)] and theobrominium cations [(HTbr)⁺ in (2)] reveal double stacking patterns at both axial sides of the aromatic frameworks, leading to the generation of anion...π...anion bridges. The latter provide the rare face-to-face linkage of the anions. In (1), every square face of the metal-oxide cuboctahedra accepts the interaction and the above bridges yield flat square nets, i.e. {(HCaf⁺)₂[SiW₁₂O₄₀]^4-}_n. Two additional cations afford single stacks only and they terminate the connectivity. Salt (2) retains a two-dimensional (2D) motif of square nets, with anion...π...anion bridges involving two of the three (HTbr)⁺ cations. The remaining cations complete a fivefold anion...π environment of [PW₁₂O₄₀]^3-, acting as terminal groups. This single anion...π interaction is influenced by the specific pairing of (HTbr)⁺ cations by double amide-to-amide hydrogen bonding. Nevertheless, invariable 2D patterns in (1) and (2) suggest the dominant role of anion...π interactions as the structure-governing factor, which is applicable to the construction of noncovalent linkages involving Keggin-type oxometalates.