High-dimensional assembly depending on polyoxoanion templates, metal ion coordination geometries, and a flexible bis(imidazole) ligand

By introducing the flexible 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(imidazole) (bbi) ligand into the polyoxovanadate system, five novel polyoxoanion-templated architectures based on [As8V14O42](4-) and [V16O38Cl](6-) building blocks were obtained: [M(bbi)(2)](2)[As8V14O42(H2O)] [M = Co (1), Ni (2), and Zn (3)], [Cu(bbi)](4)[As8V14O42(H2O)] (4), and [Cu(bbi)](6)[V16O38Cl] (5). Compounds 1-3 are isostructural, and they exhibit a binodal (4,6)-connected 2D structure with Schlafli symbol (3(4)center dot 4(2))(3(4)center dot 4(4)center dot 5(4)center dot 6(3))(2), in which the polyoxoanion induces a closed four-membered circuit of M-4(bbi)(4). Compound 4 exhibits an interesting 3D framework constructed from tetradentate [As8V14O42](4-) cluster anions and cationic ladderlike double chains. There exists a bigger M-8(bbi)(6)O-2 circuit in 4. The 3D extended structure of 5 is composed of heptadentate [V16O38Cl](6-) anions and flexural cationic chains; the latter consists of six Cu(bbi) segments arranged alternately. It presents the largest 24-membered circuit of M-24(bbi)(24) so far observed made of bbi molecules and transition-metal cations. Investigation of their structural relations shows the important template role of the polyoxoanions and the synergetic interactions among the polyoxoanions, transition-metal ions, and flexible ligand in the assembly process.