Assembly of hybrid organic-organometallic materials through mechanochemical acid-base reactions

Manual grinding of the organometallic complex [Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COOH)(2)] with a number of solid bases, namely 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, C(6)H(12)N(2), 1,4-phenylenediamine, p-(NH(2))(2)C(6)H(4), piperazine, HN(C(2)H(4))(2)NH, trans-1,4-cyclohexanediamine, p-(NH(2))(2)C(6)H(10), and guanidinium carbonate [(NH(2))(3)C](2)[CO(3)], generates quantitatively the corresponding adducts, [HC(6)H(12)N(2)][Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COOH)(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)] (1), [HC(6)H(8)N(2)][Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COOH)(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)] (2), [H(2)C(4)H(10)N(2)][Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)(2)] (3), [H(2)C(6)H(14)N(2)][Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)(2)].2 H(2)O, (4.2 H(2)O), and [C(NH(2))(3)](2)[Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)(2)].2 H(2)O, (5.2 H(2)O), respectively. Crystallization from methanol in the presence of seeds of the ground sample allows the growth of single crystals of these adducts; therefore we were able to determine the structures of the adducts by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. This information was used in turn to identify and characterize the polycrystalline materials obtained by the grinding process. In the case of [HC(6)N(2)H(12)][Fe(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COOH)(eta(5)-C(5)H(4)COO)] (1), the base can be removed by mild treatment regenerating the starting dicarboxylic acid, while in all other cases decomposition is observed. The solid-solid processes described herein imply molecular diffusion through the lattice, breaking and reassembling of hydrogen-bonded networks, and proton transfer from acid to base.