Metal ions inorganic nanostructures

Applications and roles for new metal coordination complexes continue to be discovered daily. Coordination complexes in the development of new architectural materials such as nanostructures and in environmental applications (e.g., green catalysts and bioremediation Chapter 7) are on the frontiers of inorganic chemistry in the twenty-first century however, even these exciting and splashy new systems remain governed by the fundamentals of metal ion chemistry. Advancements in applied fields cannot be fully realized without the knowledge imparted by pure and basic research, especially as metal ions are placed in novel environments. 

Abstract New helical poly(phenylacetylene)s have been successfully designed and synthesised and their properties checked. The new polymers behave as sensors of metal cation valences and/or the polar and draior character of solvents. In the presence of metal salts, poly(phenylacetylene)s form helical polymer-metal complexes (HPMCs) that, in the case of a-methoxyphenylacetic acid (MPA)-containing poly(phenylacetylene), has led to a new family of nanospheres made by complex-ation between the polymer and divalent metal ions. These HPMC nanostructures present properties such as (1) their diameter can be tuned to different sizes, (2) the helicity of the polymeric material can be tuned to either of the two helical senses, and (3) they can encapsulate a number of inorganic and organic substances. These polymers also display phenomena such as helical inversion, chiral amplification and axial chirality selection, making them versatile materials. 

S. Shimazu, Nanostructured Catalysts Prepared by the Intercalation of Metal Complexes into Inorganic Ion Exchangers , Journal of Ion Exchange, 2007,18, 60. 

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