Ligand Shape Directs the Symmetry of Extended Inorganic Motifs in Lead Oxide Naphthoates

Science Center, Bent Corridor

Compared with organic molecules, hybrid inorganic-organic materials exhibit greater structural diversity, and strategies for predicting the structures they will form are less well developed. Lead oxide carboxylates are a family of hybrid inorganic-organic compounds in which edge-sharing Pb4O tetrahedra form extended inorganic substructures that are further coordinated by carboxylate ligands. Some members of this family have noncentrosymmetric crystal structures, resulting in unusual properties such as second-harmonic generation. Extended inorganic substructures may afford these compounds unique properties unlike those of other hybrid materials, such as high thermal stability and mechanical anisotropy. We have synthesized two novel lead oxide carboxylates with isomeric naphthoate ligands in order to probe the role of ligand shape in directing the condensation, topology, and symmetry of extended inorganic motifs. The structural patterns found may be applicable to other hybrid systems.