A compound having redox-active permanganate and complexed silver ions with reducing pyridine ligands is used as a mild organic and as a precursor for nanocatalyst synthesis in a low-temperature solid-phase quasi-intramolecular redox reaction.

We synthesized and structurally characterized the previously unknown [Co(NH3)5Cl](MnO4)2 complex as the precursor of CoMn2O4. The complex was also deuterated, and its FT-IR, far-IR, low-temperature Raman and UV-VIS spectra were measured as well. The structure of the complex was solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and the 3D-hydrogen bonds were evaluated. The N-H…O-Mn hydrogen bonds act as redox centers to initiate a solid-phase quasi-intramolecular redox reaction even at 120 °C involving the Co(III) centers. The product is an amorphous material, which transforms into [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2, NH4NO3, and a todorokite-like solid Co-Mn oxide on treatment with water. The insoluble residue may contain {Mn4IIIMnIV2O12}n4n-, {Mn5IIIMnIVO12}n5n- or {MnIII6O12}n6n- frameworks, which can embed 2 × n (CoII and/or CoIII) cations in their tunnels, respectively, and 4 × n ammonia ligands are coordinated to the cobalt cations. The decomposition intermediates decompose on further heating via a series of redox reactions, forming a solid CoIIMIII2O4 spinel with an average size of 16.8 nm, and gaseous N2, N2O and Cl2. The CoMn2O4 prepared in this reaction has photocatalytic activity in Congo red degradation with UV light. Its activity strongly depends on the synthesis conditions, e.g., Congo red was degraded 9 and 13 times faster in the presence of CoMn2O4 prepared at 550 °C (in air) or 420 °C (under N2), respectively.

A simple synthetic method was developed to prepare 4[Agpy 2 ClO 4 ]Á[Agpy 4 ]ClO 4 in a low-temperature decomposition process of [Agpy 4 ]ClO 4 . A detailed IR, Raman and far-IR study including factor group analysis has been performed, and the assignation of bands is given. The compound decomposes quickly with a multistep ligand loss process with the formation of [Agpy 2 ]ClO 4 and AgClO 4 intermediates and AgCl as an end product around * 85, * 350 and 450°C, respectively. During the first decomposition step, a small fraction of the ligands is lost in a redox reaction: perchlorate oxidizes the pyridine, forming carbon, carbon dioxide, water and NO, while it itself is reduced into AgCl. In the next step, when AgClO 4 forms after complete ligand loss and reacts with the carbon formed in the degradation of pyridine at lower temperatures and produces NO, CO 2 and H 2 O. This reaction becomes possible because the AgCl formed in the redox reactions makes a eutectic melt with AgClO 4 in situ, which is a favorable medium for the carbon oxidation reaction. AgCl is known to reduce the temperature of decomposition of AgClO 4 , in which process forms AgCl as well as O 2 and so is an autocatalytic process. The loss and degradation of pyridine ligand are endothermic; the redox reactions including carbon oxidation and AgClO 4 decomposition into AgCl and O 2 are exothermic. The amount of absorbed/evolved heats corresponding to these processes was determined by DSC both under N 2 and O 2 atmospheres. Keywords Pyridine-silver complexes Á Perchlorates Á Quasi-intramolecular solid-phase redox reaction Á Evolved gas analysis Á DSC Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (