catena-Poly[sodium(I)-μ-tetra-butoxy-borato]

Area of Science:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Materials Science

Background:

• Sodium borate complexes are known to form various polymeric structures.
• Understanding the influence of alkoxy chain length on polymer formation is crucial for designing new materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the crystal structure of the title compound, sodium tetra-butoxy-borate ([Na(C(16)H(36)BO(4))](n)).
• To investigate the polymeric structure and the role of the tetra-butoxy-borate anion in its formation.
• To compare the structure with related tetra-ethoxy-borate compounds.

Main Methods:

• Single-crystal X-ray diffraction was used to determine the molecular and crystal structure.
• Analysis of atomic coordinates and bonding interactions.
• Comparison with existing crystallographic data for similar compounds.

Main Results:

• The title compound crystallizes as a one-dimensional polymer along the [001] direction.
• A fourfold axis passes through the sodium and boron atoms, both coordinated by four oxygen atoms.
• The tetra-butoxy-borate anion acts as a bridging ligand, connecting sodium atoms.
• The terminal butoxy groups exhibit conformational disorder with a 0.887:0.113 ratio.

Conclusions:

• The tetra-butoxy-borate anion effectively forms one-dimensional coordination polymers, analogous to tetra-ethoxy-borate structures.
• The conformational disorder of the butoxy tails influences the packing and properties of the polymer.
• This study contributes to the understanding of structure-property relationships in metal alkoxide-borate polymers.