Synthesis and structural characterization of a dumbbell-like phenylphosphonate-stabilized Ti₇–oxide cluster

Abstract

In recent years, crystalline polyoxotitanium clusters (PTCs) have attracted increasing attention as a new kind of promising crystalline material. In this work, a PTC stabilized by phenylphosphonate ligands, i.e. hexa‐μ‐isopropanolato‐hexaisopropanolatodi‐μ3‐oxido‐hexa‐μ3‐phenylphosphonato‐heptatitanium tetrahydrate, [Ti7(μ3‐O)2(O3P‐Phen)6(OiPr)12]·4H2O [PTC‐54; H2O3P‐Phen is phenylphosphonic acid, C6H5PO(OH)2, and HOiPr is isopropanol, C3H7OH], was obtained successfully through a facile one‐step solvothermal reaction. The dumbbell‐like core structure of PTC‐54 can be described as two trinuclear {Ti3(μ3‐O)} building units combined together by six phenylphosphonate ligands and one additional Ti atom, giving rise to a Ti7 cluster. Adjacent molecules of PTC‐54 are further connected through π–π interactions between the phenyl groups to form a supramolecular one‐dimensional chain.