Kinetic Precipitation of Solution Phase Mo-POM by Designed Organic Hosts: A Window to Solution Phase Nanostructures

The nature of the solution state species in partially reduced aqueous polyoxomolybdates has puzzled scientists for 200 years. Great breakthroughs in this area have only been made in recent years with the discovery of self-assembled giant polyoxomolybdates (Mo-POM), such as the spherical " keplerates ". 1,2 Keplerates are supramolecular inorganic clusters with icosahedral symmetry. The spherical keplerate {Mo 132 } is unique due to its discrete nature, size (~2.9 nm, Mo 132), charge (-42), and fascinating aesthetic beauty. 1 While the crystal structure has been elucidated, the solution state characteristics are unknown. Keplerate {Mo 132 } could possibly function as a discrete, nanoscale, multivalent building block for the construction of novel composite materials. The high negative charge that keplerate {Mo 132 } carries could be used to establish strong electrostatic interactions between the organic host and inorganic guest, leading to solid self-assembly processes. Furthermore the keplerate is already at the nanoscale.