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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of ChalcogenidoplumbatesII or IV
Published on: December 29, 2016
Ionothermal synthesis of tetranuclear borate clusters containing f- and p-block metals
T Gannon Parker1, Amanda L Chown, Austin Beehler
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University , 95 Chieftain Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States.
Abstract:
The reactions of simple oxides or halides of trivalent lanthanides and actinides or bismuth with boric acid in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride at 150 °C result in the formation and crystallization of a series of isomorphous tetranuclear borate clusters with the general formula M4B22O36(OH)6(H2O)13 (M = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Pu, and Bi). These clusters do not assemble with trivalent cations smaller than Gd(3+), suggesting that the formation of the clusters is dictated by the size of the metal ion. The cations are found in cavities along the periphery of a cage assembled from the corner- and edge-sharing interactions of BO3 triangles and BO4 tetrahedra, yielding a complex chiral cluster. Both enantiomers cocrystallize. The metal ions are nonacoordinate, and their geometries are best described as distorted tridiminished icosahedra. This coordination environment is new for both Pu(3+) and Bi(3+). In addition to detailed structural information, UV/vis-NIR absorption and photoluminescence spectra are also provided.
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