Fullerene‐like Niobovanadate Cage Built from {(Nb)V<sub>5</sub>} Pentagon
Di Zhang, Chang‐An Wang, Zhengguo Lin, Long‐Zhang Dong, Chao Zhang, Zi‐Shuo Yao, Peng Lei, Jing Dong, Jianxin Du, Yingnan Chi, Ya‐Qian Lan, Changwen Hu
Abstract
Abstract The striking aesthetic appeal of fullerene‐like clusters has captured the interest of researchers. Nevertheless, the assembly of fullerene‐like polyoxovadanadate (POV) cages remains a significant challenge due to the scarcity of suitable pentagonal motif. Herein, we have successfully synthesized the first fullerene‐like all‐inorganic POV cage, {(V 2 O)V 30 Nb 12 O 102 (H 2 O) 12 } ( V 30 Nb 12 ), by introducing Nb into the POVs. V 30 Nb 12 is assembled by 12 heterometallic {(Nb)V 5 } pentagons through sharing V centers with I h symmetry, reminiscent of C 60 . To our knowledge, the fullerene‐like V 30 Nb 12 not only represents the highest‐nuclearity POV cage but also stands as the first niobovanadate cluster. Notably, V 30 Nb 12 exhibits excellent solution stability, as confirmed by ESI‐MS, FT‐IR and UV/Vis spectra. As there is no protection organic ligand on its outer surface, V 30 Nb 12 can be further modified with Cu‐complexes to form a fullerene‐like cluster based zigzag chain ( Cu−V 30 Nb 12 ).