An organometallic route to zinc phosphonates and their intercalates

Abstract

An organometallic non-aqueous route to zinc phosphonates and to their intercalates has been studied. Various phosphonic acids react with dimethylzinc in THF media to afford the corresponding layered zinc phosphonates Zn(O ₃ PR ¹ ) (R ¹ = Me, Ph, 2- and 3-thienyl, thiophen-3-ylmethyl) with evolution of methane. The presence of a primary n-alkylamine in the reaction mixture allows the one-pot formation of 2D-layered intercalated phases of general formula Zn(O ₃ PR ¹ )·RNH ₂ [R ² = Bu ⁿ , Pen ⁿ (= n-pentyl)] whereas a more bulky amine such as cyclohexylamine (Hex ^c NH ₂ ) lead to the formation of 1D polymeric chains of formula Zn(O ₃ PPh)·2Hex ^c NH ₂ .