Polyoxometalates (POMs) are discrete nanosized metal oxoanions with an enormous structural diversity and a multitude of interesting properties that lead to potential and real applications in catalysis, analytical chemistry, magnetism, nanotechnology, and medicine.[1]Recently we reported a novel subclass in POM chemistry: polyanions composed of square-planar d 8 noble-metal ions.[2]In all cases the synthetic strategy was based on the con , to open basket-, shell-, ring-, and cage-like host systems suitable for the uptake of neutral, cationic, and anionic guests. The structural flexibility of polyoxovanadates is based on the ability of vanadium to adopt different coordination geometries from tetrahedral to square-pyramidal and octahedral, and to form POMs in both + 5 and + 4 oxidation states, thus leading to mixed-valent or even fully reduced polyanions that can behave as nanoscale magnets.[1a,b,d,g,j, 4] Moreover, it is well known that vanadium can easily replace one or more addenda atoms in polyoxomolybdates and -tungstates.[ 6À (Pd 7 V 6 ), which was prepared by heating Pd(OAc) 2 and either sodium meta-or orthovanadate in a potassium acetate solution (2 m, pH 7.5), and which was crystallized as the hydrated mixed potassium and sodium salt K 5 Na[Pd 7 V 6 O 24 (OH) 2 ]·7 H 2 O (1). At least three main competing processes occur in the reaction mixture: 1) selfassembly of Pd 7 V 6 , 2) formation of potassium decavanadate (which is always present as a side product), and 3) aggregation of Pd II aqua and hydroxo complexes with formation of insoluble Pd(OH) 2 . To minimize the third process we used an excess of vanadate ions in the synthesis of Pd 7 V 6 , and indeed this resulted in a higher yield of 1. The isolation of pure crystalline 1 can be achieved by fractional crystallization; here the evaporation rate of the solvent is rather important (see the Experimental Section for details). Compound 1 is soluble in water and is stable in the solid state and after redissolution when exposed to air and light.The IR spectrum of 1 shows strong bands at 564 and 456 cm À1 that correspond to the {PdO 4 } groups. The sharp band at 918 cm À1 is due to the stretching vibrations of terminal V=O groups, while the peaks at 788, 746, and 636 cm À1 are attributed to symmetric and asymmetric V À O À V and Pd À O À V vibrations. [6] Pd 7 V 6 is bowl-shaped with idealized C 2v symmetry, and is composed of two identical {Pd 3 V 3 O 11 } units (Figure 1, upper left), linked through four m 2 -oxo bridges and one additional Pd II center that forms the bottom of the "bowl".[7] The[*] Dr.