Assembling nanosized ring-shaped synthons to an anionic layer structure based on the synergetically induced functional complementarity of their surface-sites

Abstract

The reaction of an aqueous solution of sodium molybdate with hypophosphorous (phosphinic) acid acting both as reducing agent and ligand at low pH values (≃ 1) results in the formation of nanosized ring-shaped cluster units which assemble to form layers of the compound Na21[Mo(VI)126-Mo(V)28O462H14 (H2O)54(H2PO2)7].xH2O 1 (x ≃ 300); the assemblage is based on the synergetically induced functional complementarity of amphiphilic O = MoL (L = H2O, H2PO2-) groups and corresponds to the replacement of H2O ligands of rings by related terminal Mo = O groups of other rings (and vice versa) the nucleophilicity of which is induced by coordinated H2PO2- ligands.