Self-assembly of zirconocene-based metal–organic capsules: the structure, luminescence sensing of Fe3+ and iodine capture†
Abstract
Three nanosized zirconium-based molecular capsules (Zr-MCs) constructed from trinuclear zirconocene building blocks and linear carboxylate ligands, namely, {[Cp3Zr3(μ3-O)(μ2-OH)3]2(BDC)3}·Cl2(DMA)(H2O) (Zr-MC-1), {[Cp3Zr3(μ3-O)(μ2-OH)3]2(SDC)3}·Cl2(DMF)2.5 (Zr-MC-2), and {[Cp3Zr3(μ3-O)(μ2-OH)3]2(ADA)3}·Cl2(DMF)2 (Zr-MC-3) (H2BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; H2SDC = 4,4-stilbenedicarboxylic acid; H2ADA = azobenzene-4,4-dicarboxylic acid), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Additionally, Zr-MC-2 can serve as a promising selective sensor for Fe3+. Meanwhile, the absorption ability of Zr-MC-1 and Zr-MC-3 toward iodine was investigated.