[Co(II)4Mo(V)12O28(OH)12(H2O)12]·12H2O: facilitating single-crystal growth by deuteration

The structure of the neutral heterometal oxide cluster dodecaaqua-di-μ(3)-hydroxido-deca-μ(2)-hydroxido-octacosaoxidotetracobalt(II)dodecamolybdenum(V) dodecahydrate, [Mo(12)O(28)(μ(2)-OH)(10)(μ(3)-OH)(2){Co(H(2)O)(3)}(4)], is virtually identical to the previously reported Ni(II) analogue [Mo(12)O(28)(μ(2)-OH)(10)(μ(3)-OH)(2){Ni(II)(H(2)O)(3)}(4)] [Müller, Beugholt, Kögerler, Bögge, Budko & Luban (2000). Inorg. Chem. 39, 5176-5177], the first molecular magnet to exhibit signs of magnetostriction. The formation kinetics of the neutral cluster species, which is insoluble in water, can be significantly slowed by the use of deuterated reactants in order to grow single crystals of sufficient size for single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies using standard diffractometers. One half of the main cluster and six solvent water molecules constitute the asymmetric unit. The main cluster is located on a mirror plane.