Tuning the topology and functionality of metal-organic frameworks by ligand design.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-highly crystalline hybrid materials that combine metal ions with rigid organic ligands-have emerged as an important class of porous materials. The organic ligands add flexibility and diversity to the chemical structures and functions of these materials. In this Account, we summarize our laboratory's experience in tuning the topology and functionality of MOFs by ligand design.

Ligand bridging-angle-driven assembly of molecular architectures based on quadruply bonded Mo-Mo dimers.

A systematic exploration of the assembly of Mo2(O2C-)4-based metal-organic molecular architectures structurally controlled by the bridging angles of rigid organic linkers has been performed. Twelve bridging dicarboxylate ligands were designed to be of different sizes with bridging angles of 0, 60, 90, and 120° while incorporating a variety of nonbridging functional groups, and these ligands were used as linkers. These dicarboxylate linkers assemble with quadruply bonded Mo-Mo clusters acting as nodes to give 13 molecular architectures, termed metal-organic polygons/polyhedra with metal cluster node arrangements of a linear shape, triangle, octahedron, and cuboctahedron/anti-cuboctahedron.

Interconversion between molecular polyhedra and metal-organic frameworks.

The construction of a metal-organic framework (MOF) with a pcu-a topology using a preassembled soluble molecular octahedron has been realized experimentally. The resulting MOF can also be reversibly converted to the molecular octahedron. All such conversions are based on axial-ligand substitution reactions on the molecular octahedron.

Facilitating access to the most easily ionized molecule: an improved synthesis of the key intermediate, W2(hpp)4Cl2, and related compounds.

A far superior synthesis is reported for W(2)(hpp)(4)Cl(2), a key intermediate in the synthesis of the most easily ionized closed-shell molecule W(2)(hpp)(4) (hpp = the anion of the bicyclic guanidine compound 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine). At 200 degrees C, the one-pot reaction of the air-stable and commercially available compounds W(CO)(6) and Hhpp in o-dichlorobenzene produces W(2)(hpp)(4)Cl(2) in multigram quantities with isolated yields of over 90%. At lower temperatures, the reaction can lead to other compounds such as W(Hhpp)(2)(CO)(4) or W(2)(mu-CO)(2)(mu-hpp)(2)(eta(2)-hpp)(2), which are isolable in good purity depending upon the specific conditions employed.

"Matched/mismatched" diastereomeric dirhodium(II) carboxamidate catalyst pairs. Structure-selectivity correlations in diazo decomposition and hetero-Diels-Alder reactions.

Homo-ligated dirhodium(II) carboxamidates provide well-defined structural frameworks with which to investigate catalyst-controlled multiple asymmetric induction ("match/mismatch" effects). Diastereomeric pairs of methyl 2-oxoimidazolidine-4(S)-carboxylate ligands containing 2-phenylcyclopropane (4S,2'S,3'S-HMCPIM and 4S,2'R,3'R-HMCPIM) and N-benzenesulfonylproline (4S,2'S-HBSPIM and 4S,2'R-HBSPIM) attachments at the 1-N-acyl site have been prepared; the resulting (cis-2,2)-Rh(2)L(4) compounds have been produced in good yields, and the X-ray crystal structure of each dirhodium(II) compound has been obtained. The incorporation of additional stereocenters into the dirhodium(II) ligands leads to recognizable levels of double asymmetric induction for C-H insertion, cyclopropanation, and hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition applications.

The extraordinary ability of guanidinate derivatives to stabilize higher oxidation numbers in dimetal units by modification of redox potentials: structures of Mo(2)(5+) and Mo(2)(6+) compounds.

Full characterization of the first homologous series of dimolybdenum paddlewheel compounds having electronic configurations of the types sigma(2)pi(4)delta(x), x = 2, 1, 0, and Mo-Mo bond orders of 4, 3.5, and 3, respectively, has been accomplished with the guanidinate-type ligand hpp (hpp = the anion of 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine). Essentially quantitative oxidation of Mo(2)(hpp)(4), 1, by CH(2)Cl(2) gives Mo(2)(hpp)(4)Cl, 2.

In search of high stereocontrol for the construction of cis-disubstituted cyclopropane compounds. Total synthesis of a cyclopropane-configured urea-PETT analogue that is a HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor.

[reaction: see text] A new azetidine-ligated dirhodium(II) catalyst that possesses a l-menthyl ester attachment provides significant diastereocontrol and high enantiocontrol for the formation of cis-cyclopropane products from reactions of substituted styrenes with diazo esters.

Further Study of Very Close Nonbonded Cu(I)-Cu(I) Contacts. Molecular Structure of a New Compound and Density Functional Theory Calculations.

A new compound containing a Cu(I)-Cu(I) unit with a short internuclear distance, 2.453(1) Å, is reported. The question of whether such a short distance justifies the postulation of a metal-metal bond is addressed using density functional theory (DFT).