New structural forms in molecular metal phosphonates: novel tri- and hexanuclear zinc(II) cages containing phosphonate and pyrazole ligands

The reaction of ZnCl(2) with tert-butylphosphonic acid and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole in the presence of triethylamine as a hydrogen chloride scavenger affords a trinuclear molecular zinc phosphonate [Zn(3)Cl(2)(3,5-Me(2)Pz)(4)(t-BuPO(3))(2)]. The structure of this compound contains a planar trizinc assembly containing two bicapping mu(3) [t-BuPO(3)](2-) ligands and terminal pyrazole and chloride ligands. In contrast an analogous reaction of ZnCl(2) with phenylphosphonic acid and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole affords a hexanuclear zinc phosphonate [Zn(6)Cl(4)(3,5-Me(2)PzH)(8)(PhPO(3))(4)]. The six zinc centers are arranged in a chairlike conformation. The four phosphonates in this complex also act as bridging tripodal mu(3) [RPO(3)](2-) ligands.