Issue 9, 2015

Crystal disassembly and reassembly of heterometallic NiII–TaV oxalate compounds

Abstract

Four new complexes, [Ni(bpy)3]2[TaO(C2O4)3]Cl·11H2O (1), [Ni(bpy)3]2[TaO(C2O4)3]Cl·12H2O (2), [{Ni(bpy)2}2(μ-C2O4)]1.5[TaO(C2O4)3]·13H2O (3) and [{Ni(bpy)2}2(μ-C2O4)](NO3)2·H2C2O4 (4) (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine), have been prepared and investigated by IR spectroscopy and thermal analysis; compounds 1, 2 and 4 have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In these Ni–Ta oxalate systems the crystal disassembly/reassembly process was observed. Stick-like single crystals of 1 disassemble in the mother liquor and again reassemble to form polyhedral single crystals of 2 having an additional water molecule. Compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in different crystal systems (P21/c vs. P212121); nevertheless they exhibit very similar crystal packing of the constituent structural units: the [Ni(bpy)3]2+ cations are involved in a specific intermolecular contact, quadruple aryl embrace (QAE), in a honeycomb 2D hexagonal network, whereas the [TaO(C2O4)3]3− anions and water molecules constitute a 3D hydrogen bonding sublattice. A survey of the Cambridge Structural Database was performed in order to find similar QAE contacts within the crystal structures containing the [M(bpy)3]n+ cation. In a Ni–Ta oxalate system with a different [{Ni(bpy)2}2(μ-C2O4)]2+ cation environment, compound 3 was obtained. The disassembly/reassembly process occurs in the mother liquor containing crystals of 3, and after two weeks it yields crystals of 4 with different constituent units: the homodinuclear [{Ni(bpy)2}2(μ-C2O4)]2+ cation remains unchanged, whereas the (oxalato)tantalate(V) anion decomposes during disassembly of 3 and NO3 takes its place as the counteranion in the reassembled crystal form of 4.

Graphical abstract: Crystal disassembly and reassembly of heterometallic NiII–TaV oxalate compounds

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Dec 2014
Accepted
26 Jan 2015
First published
26 Jan 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

CrystEngComm, 2015,17, 2021-2029

Crystal disassembly and reassembly of heterometallic NiII–TaV oxalate compounds

L. A. Dubraja, D. Matković-Čalogović and P. Planinić, CrystEngComm, 2015, 17, 2021 DOI: 10.1039/C4CE02516D

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