Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.46, No.6, 2115-2123, 2007
Triangular oxalate clusters [W-3(mu(3)-S)(mu(2)-S-2)(3)(C2O4)(3)](2-) as building blocks for coordination polymers and nanosized complexes
The reaction of aqueous [W3S7(C2O4)(3)](2-) with Ln(3+) and Th4+ in a 1:1 molar ratio leads to oxalate-bridged heteropolynuclear molecular complexes and coordination polymers. La3+ and Ce3+ give a layered structure with big (about 1.8 nm) honeycomb pores which are filled with water molecules and lanthanide ions, in {[Ln(H2O)(6)](3)[W3S7(C2O4)(3)](4)}Br center dot xH(2)O (Ia and Ib). The smaller Pr3+, Nd3+, Sm3+, Eu3+, and Gd3+ ions give discrete nanomolecules [(W3S7(C2O4)(3)Ln(H2O)(5))(2)(mu-C2O4)] (with a separation of about 3.2 nm between the most distant parts of the molecule), which are further united into zigzag chains by specific S-2 center dot center dot center dot Br- contacts to achieve the overall stoichiometry K[(W3S7(C2O4)(3)Ln(H2O)(5))(2)(mu-C2O4)]Br center dot xH(2)O (IIa-IId). Th4+ gives K-2[(W3S7(C2O4)(3))(4)Th-2(OH)(2)(H2O)(10)]center dot 14.33H(2)O (III) with a nanosized discrete anion (with a separation of about 2.7 nm between the most distant parts of the molecule), in which two thorium atoms are bound via two hydroxide groups into the Th-2(OH)(2)(6+) unit, and each Th is further coordinated by five water molecules and two monodentate [W3S7(C2O4)](2-) cluster ligands. All compounds were characterized by X-ray structure analysis and IR spectroscopy. Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the temperature range of 2-300 K show weak antiferromagnetic interactions between two lanthanides atoms for compounds IIa, IIb, and IId. The thermal decomposition of Ia, Ib, and IIb was studied by thermogravimetry.