Amorphous silica as a versatile supermolecular ligand for Ni(II) amine complexes: toward interfacial molecular recognition.

Selective adsorption of Ni(II) amine complexes used as precursors for supported catalysts was studied on amorphous silica surfaces. The nature of the adsorption sites was probed by Ni(en)(dien) (H2O)]2+, Ni(en)2(H2O)2]2+, and Ni(dien)(H2O)3]2+ (en = ethylenediamine, dien = diethylenetriamine), which respectively contain one, two, and three labile aqua ligands. The silica surface acts as a mono- or polydentate ligand that can substitute the aqua ligands of the Ni(II) complexes in an inner-sphere adsorption mechanism. Room-temperature adsorption isotherms indicate that each nickel complex selects a limited number of adsorption sites; different sites are recognised by the three complexes, even though they have the same charge and comparable sizes. Several spectroscopic techniques (UV/Vis/NIR, EXAFS, and 29Si NMR) were used to confirm the selective character of the interaction of Ni(II) amine complexes with the silica surface. The specific sites include both silanol/silanolate groups in the same number as the original labile ligands and other surface groups that probably act as hydrogen-bond acceptors. These two types of groups cooperate to result in interfacial molecular-recognition phenomena with interactional complementarity.