Directed self-assembly, symmetry breaking, and electronic modulation of metal oxide clusters by pyramidal heteroanions

Mixed valence/metal polyoxometalate (POM) clusters are one of the most interesting host species because they show the ability to incorporate a wide range of heteroatoms of various charges and geometries. We report herein the incorporation of pyramidal EO32- heteroanions (E=PH, S, Se, Te) that are responsible not only for directing the templated assembly of a family of mixed-metal POMs but also for the symmetry-breaking of the traditional Dawson architecture and modulation of the electronic characteristics of the cluster's shell. The isolated family of POMs consists of four members: (Me2 NH2 )5 Na2 [Mo11 V7 O52 (HPO3 )]⋅MeOH⋅5 H2 O (1), (NH4 )7 [Mo11 V7 O52 (SO3 )]⋅12 H2 O (2), K7 [Mo11 V7 O52 (SeO3 )] ⋅31 H2 O (3), and (Me2 NH2 )6 Na[Mo11 V7 O52 (TeO3 )]⋅15 H2 O (4), and were characterized by X-ray structural analysis, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV/Vis, FTIR, elemental analysis, flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic studies in concert with density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations have been used to elucidate the effect of the heteroatom on the electronic properties of the cluster.