Phosphate and Phosphonate Derivatised Wells-Dawson Polyoxometalates as novel precursors for organic-inorganic hybrid materials

Identifier:  TFG:1361

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFG1361

Authors:  Martí Torrell, Carla

Abstract:
This project aims to report a novel synthetic route to create inorganic hybrid materials based on phosphate and phosphonate groups linked to a Wells-Dawson lacunary polyoxometalate. These building blocks are aimed to serve as starting materials for further organic functionalisation. Until now the method commonly used for the synthesis of covalently bounded organic-inorganic hybrid polyoxometalates entailed firstly making the organic ligand, secondly linking it to the heteroatom that would act as an anchoring point and finally grafting the organic fragment to the lacunary polyoxometalate. By following this new approach, several synthetic drawbacks can be avoided such as the long-step synthesis of organic ligands and low yields. This project will initially focus on the synthesis of the Wells-Dawson heteropolyoxometalate as well as its analogous lacunary structure in order to further functionalise it and obtain the phosphonate and phosphate hybrids. Comparison of their properties will also demonstrate how these novel precursors may be much more convenient in terms of redox photocatalysis and other applications. Despite polyoxometalate species being described as early as the nineteenth century, their long lasting interest is partly based on their interesting physical and chemical properties and the large domains of applications that arise from them