Functional POM cluster

The challenge now is to design individual POM cluster molecules that can interact both with each other and with the macroscale (as shown in Figure 2.12), in a desired fashion in response to inputs and environmental effects, so that a functioning molecular system is really constructed. 

Here we start to examine the pivotal role that polyoxometalate clusters can play in the development of nanoscale devices that utilize POM components, and start to conceptualize some example systems in which POM components could have a crucial role [13, 19]. This is because such functional nanosystems can exploit the building block principle already established in this area of chemistry, coupled with the range of physical properties, and the fact that POM systems can really be seen as molecular metal oxides [20]. To demonstrate this point, a number of examples have been selected across the area of POM chemistry, including our contributions, to help highlight new directions and concepts. It should also be noted that metal oxides already play an important role in the electronics and semiconductor industry today and their solid-state properties have been studied extensively [21, 22]. Many of these concepts are not new in isolation, but the possibility of using molecular design in metal oxides to produce... 

In one such approach we seek to exploit the potential signal transduction properties of the thermochromic Dawson [40] polyoxometalates and combine this with a fluorescent POM-hybrid to produce a device that could respond optically as a function of the local environment, see Figure 2.12. In this example, the clusters would be positioned on a gold surface using SAMs (Self-assembled monolayer) with a cationic tail and local positional control could be aimed using self-assembly, or even by means of an atomic force microscope tip. 

Initially, counterions were distributed randomly around the nanocapsule, which was filled and surrounded by water. In the internal cavity of the POM 172 water molecules were placed 72 waters fulfilling the molybdenum coordination sphere of the pentagonal Mo(Mo)s units and a structureless 100 H2O cluster. Following a standard protocol [24], a large number of configurations were collected through the MD trajectory and analyzed. Then, the radial (RDF) and spatial (SDF) distribution functions of the centers of the capsule-oxygen water atoms were computed. 

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a unique class of discrete anionic metal-oxygen clusters, which attracted great interest because they can act as functional constituents in variety of solid materials. POMs have abundant oxygen donors on the cluster surfaces, which are effective inorganic... 

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are transition metal oxygen clusters with well-defined atomic coordination structures. POMs are used as functional nano-colloidal materials and also as supports for catalysts via ion-pair interactions due to their acidic properties. Combinations of chiral diamines and POM 225 effectively catalyze enamine-based aldol reactions. Less than 1 mol% of chiral amine loading is suf-ficientto catalyze the reaction (Table 28.10, entries 1 and 2) [114]. Highly diastereo-and enantioselective cross-aldol reactions of aldehydes are accomplished using chiral diamine-POM 226 under emulsion conditions (entries 3 and 4) [115]. Sul-fonated polystyrene or fluoropolymer Nafion NR50 are also good supports for the immobilization of primary-tertiary diamines. The catalyst 227 can be recovered by filtration and reused for at least four cycles with no loss of stereoselectivity (entries 5 and 6) [116]. 

In this volume we have collected 10 review chapters from distinguished scientists who have contributed extensively to the study and development of supramolecular assemblies that contain metals and metal-like elements with unusual structures and morphologies and possess potentially useful (and applicable) physical and biological properties. The first chapter by K. Ariga et al. is a general discussion of supramolecular structures that contain inorganic building blocks for hybrid lipid thin films, layer-by-layer assemblies, structure transcription, and functional mesoporous hybrids. This is followed by two chapters, the first by M. L. Kistler et al., who describe the self-assembly of hydrophilic polyoxometalate (POM) macro-anions and examine the structure and behavior of POM macro-ions in solution. This is followed by a chapter by S. K. Das, who provides an overview of the supramolecular features of POM-supported transition metal complexes, POM-crown ether complexes with supramolecular cations, and supramolecular water clusters associated with POMs. 

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