Gigantic
coordination molecules assembled from a large number of metal ions
and organic ligands are structurally and functionally challenging
to characterize. Here we show that a heterometallic cluster [Ni36Gd102(OH)132(mmt)18(dmpa)18(H2dmpa)24(CH3COO)84(SO4)18(NO3)18(H2O)30]·Br6(NO3)6·(H2O)
x
·(CH3OH)
y
, (1, x ≈
130, y ≈ 60), shaped like a “Star of
David”, can be synthesized using a “mixed-ligand”
and “sulfate-template” strategy. In terms of metal nuclearity
number, 1 is the second largest 3d–4f cluster
to date. In the solid state, 1 is porous after removing
the lattice guests. The N2 adsoption experiment reveals
that the BET and Langmuir surface areas are 299.8 and 412.0 cm2 g–1, respectively. CO2 adsorption
at 298 K gives the amount of 45 cm3 g–1 for 1. More importantly, 1 is soluble
in common organic solvents and exhibits high solution stability revealed
by high resolution MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray
scattering (SAXS), and low-dose transmission electron microscopy.
The solubility and the potential open metal sites owing to the labile
coordinating components prompted us to investigate the photocatalytic
properties of 1, which displays high selectivity and
efficiency for reduction of CO2 to CO with turnover number
and turnover frequency of 29700 and 1.2 s–1, respectively.
These values are higher than most catalysts working under the same
conditions, presumably due to the strong Ni–CO2 binding
effect. In addition, the large percentage of Gd(III) in 1 leads to a large magnetic entropy change (41.3 J·kg–1·K–1) at 2.0 K for ΔH = 7 T.