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.