Assembly of new polyoxometalate–templated metal–organic frameworks based on flexible ligands

Abstract

Four new polyoxometalate(POM)–templated metal–organic frameworks based on flexible ligands, namely, [Cu6(bip)12(PMoVI12O40)2(PMoVMoVI11O40O2)]·8H2O(1), [CuI3CuII3(bip)12(PMoVI12O40)2(PMoV12O34)]·8H2O(2), [Ni6(bip)12(PMoVI12O40)(PMoVI11MoVO40)2]Cl·6H2O(3), [CoII3CoIII2(H2bib)2(Hbib)2(PW9O34)2(H2O)6]·6H2O(4) (bip=1,3-bis(imidazolyl)propane, bib=1,4-bis(imidazolyl)butane) have been obtained under hydrothermal condition and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, elemental analyses, and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. The studies of single crystal X-ray indicate that compounds 1–3 crystallize in the trigonal space group P-3, and compound 4 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1. Compounds 1 and 3 represent 3D frameworks, and POMs as the guest molecules are incorporated into the cages which are composed of the ligands and metals, while compounds 2 and 4 show 3D frameworks by hydrogen bonds. This compounds provide new examples of host–guest compounds based on flexible bis(imidazole) ligands. In addition, the electrochemical property and the catalytic property of compound 1 have also been investigated.