Serendipitous and Targeted Synthesis of High Nuclearity Clusters-Carbonate and Oxalate Encapsulating Silver Alkynides

Abstract

Silver coordination compounds of the [Ag3L2] (where L = tBu-CC) family having perchlorate counterions exhibit template-driven self-assembly of the common square pyramidal building block. This behavior is similar to previously described observations; however, important differences arise from counterion-silver interactions. Penta-and hexameric clusters encapsulating chloride and oxalate, respectively, were crystallographically characterized. A high nuclearity cluster [(CO3)3(H2O) Ag38L20]12+ was formed upon extended exposure to an ambient atmosphere by trapping three carbonates and one water molecule.