Complexes formed between nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) and M2+ transition metals: Isostructural organic-inorganic hybrids

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ic0110373

Nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (NTP, [N(CH₂PO₃H₂)₃]) recently has been found to form three-dimensional porous structures with encapulation of templates as well as layered and linear structures with template intercalation. It was, therefore, of interest to examine the type of organic-inorganic hybrids that would form with metal cations. Mn(II) was found to replace two of the six acid protons, while a third proton bonds to the nitrilo nitrogen, forming a zwitter ion. Two types of compounds were obtained. When the ratio of acid to Mn(II) was less than 10, a trihydrate, Mn[HN(CH₂PO₃H)₃(H₂O)₃] (2) formed. Compound 2 is monoclinic P2₁/c, with a = 9.283(2) A, b = 16,027(3) A, c = 9,7742(2) A, β = 115.209(3)°, V = 1315,0(5) A³, and Z= 4. The Mn atoms form zigzag chains bridged by two of the three phosphonate groups, The third phosphonate group is only involved in hydrogen bonding. The metal atoms are octahedrally coordinated with three of the sites occupied by water molecules, Adjacent chains are hydrogen-bonded to each other through POH and HN donors, and the additional participation of all the water hydrogens in H-bonding results in a corrugated sheetlike structure. Use of excess NTP at a ratio to metal of 10 to 1 yields an anhydrous compound Mn[HN(CH₂PO₃H)₃] (1), P2₁/n, a = 9,129(1) A, b = 8,408(1) A, c = 13,453(1) A, β = 97,830(2)°, V = 1023,0(2) A³, and Z = 4, Manganese is five coordinate forming a distorted square pyramid with oxygens from five different phosphonate groups. The sixth oxygen is 2,85 A from an adjacent Mn, preventing octahedral coordination. All the protonated atoms, three phosphonate oxygens and N, form moderately strong hydrogen bonds in a compact three-dimensional structure. The open-structured trihydrate forms a series of isostructural compounds with other divalent transition metal ions as well as with mixed-metal compositions. This is indicative that the hydrogen bonding controls the type of structure formed irrespective of the cation.

Full text of DOI:10.1021/ic0110373

Inorg. Chem. 2002, 41, 2325−2333
Complexes Formed between Nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) and
2+
M Transition Metals: Isostructural Organic−Inorganic Hybrids
Aurelio Cabeza,† Xiang Ouyang,‡ C. V. Krishnamohan Sharma,‡,§ Miguel A. G. Aranda,†
,‡
Sebastian Bruque,† and Abraham Clearfield*
Departamento de Quimica Inorganica, Cristalografia y Mineralogia, UniVersidad de Malaga,
29071 Malaga, Spain, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M UniVersity,
College Station, Texas 77843, and Imaging Materials & Media, R&D, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York 14650-24708
Received October 10, 2001
Nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (NTP, [N(CH PO H ) ]) recently has been found to form three-dimensional
2
3 2 3
porous structures with encapulation of templates as well as layered and linear structures with template intercalation.
It was, therefore, of interest to examine the type of organic−inorganic hybrids that would form with metal cations.
Mn(II) was found to replace two of the six acid protons, while a third proton bonds to the nitrilo nitrogen, forming
a zwitter ion. Two types of compounds were obtained. When the ratio of acid to Mn(II) was less than 10, a
trihydrate, Mn[HN(CH PO H)3(H O)3] (2) formed. Compound 2 is monoclinic P21/c, with a ) 9.283(2) Å, b )
2
3
2
3
16.027(3) Å, c ) 9.7742(2) Å, â ) 115.209(3)°, V ) 1315.0(5) Å , and Z ) 4. The Mn atoms form zigzag chains
bridged by two of the three phosphonate groups. The third phosphonate group is only involved in hydrogen bonding.
The metal atoms are octahedrally coordinated with three of the sites occupied by water molecules. Adjacent chains
are hydrogen-bonded to each other through POH and HN donors, and the additional participation of all the water
hydrogens in H-bonding results in a corrugated sheetlike structure. Use of excess NTP at a ratio to metal of 10
to 1 yields an anhydrous compound Mn[HN(CH PO H)3] (1), P21/n, a ) 9.129(1) Å, b ) 8.408(1) Å, c ) 13.453(1)
2
3
3
Å, â ) 97.830(2)°, V ) 1023.0(2) Å , and Z ) 4. Manganese is five coordinate forming a distorted square
pyramid with oxygens from five different phosphonate groups. The sixth oxygen is 2.85 Å from an adjacent Mn,
preventing octahedral coordination. All the protonated atoms, three phosphonate oxygens and N, form moderately
strong hydrogen bonds in a compact three-dimensional structure. The open-structured trihydrate forms a series of
isostructural compounds with other divalent transition metal ions as well as with mixed-metal compositions. This is
indicative that the hydrogen bonding controls the type of structure formed irrespective of the cation.
Introduction
experimental conditions. Our recent studies2 involving phos-
phonic acids demonstrated that deprotonation of the orga-
nophosphonic acid results in very strong and predictable
structural aggregates through symmetrical O‚‚‚H‚‚‚O hydro-
gen bonds (a) or hydrogen-bonded dimers (b) as in Chart 1.
Subsequently we have begun to examine the chemical
behavior of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid), NTP. This
acid exists as a zwitterion in its pure form as in Scheme 1
and reveals a complex three-dimensional structure involving
five of its acidic protons.3
Phosphonic acids are interesting ligands for several
reasons. They can complex metal atoms in several ways by
loss of one or both protons and in addition can have their
complexing ability modified by choice of organic functional
groups.1 The choice of phosphonic acid may also be utilized
to dictate the dimensionality of the resultant metal complex.
Dimensionality may also be mediated by the choice of
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: clearfield@
mail.chem.tamu.edu.
To explore the behavior of NTP, several metal complexes
have been prepared. Addition of NaOH to NTP in the ratio
† Universidad de Malaga.
‡ Texas A&M University.
§ Eastman Kodak Company.
(1) Clearfield, A. In Progress in Inorganic Chemistry; Karlin, K. D., Ed.;
John Wiley: New York, 1988; Vol. 47, pp 371-510.
(2) Sharma, C. V. K.; Clearfield, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 1558.
(3) Daly, J. J.; Wheatly, P. J. J. Chem. Soc. A 1967, 212.
10.1021/ic0110373 CCC: $22.00 © 2002 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 03/23/2002
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002 2325

Cabeza et al.
Chart 1
as the coordination about the nitrogen is pyramidal rather
than tetrahedral. The compound is layered, the layers being
formed by bridging of lead atoms at a distance of two full
phosphonate groups apart. This bridging results in oval-
shaped 16-atom rings or layered cavities.
The second compound, Pb2[(H2O3PCH2)N(CH2PO3)2]‚
H2O, was prepared by refluxing a solution in which the Pb:
NTP ratio was 1.5:1. This compound is also layered, but
the metal coordination is quite different. One lead atom is
6-coordinate with distortion of the octahedral arrangement
to provide space for the lone pair. The second lead atom is
4-coordinate, also highly distorted from tetrahedral. The two
lead atoms are close together being bridged by two single
oxygen atoms forming a parallelogram. There are six
nonbonding oxygens at distances of 2.88-3.07 Å from the
4-coordinate lead atom and two oxygens at 3.03 and 3.37 Å
from the 6-coordinate Pb. Thus, the layers are compactly
built in contrast to the monolead layers that contain open
cavities.
A salt of NTP with Al3+ has also been reported, Al[HO3-
PCH2)3N]‚H2O. The crystal structure is built up by a close
packing of inorganic chains covalently interconnected by the
organic groups.6 All attempts to obtain a NTP derivative with
Cu2+ were fruitless. The phosphonic acid undergoes a bond-
breaking H2 addition, yielding a nitrilobis(methylenephos-
phonic acid) (NDP, [(H2O3PCH2)2NH]). So, a new salt with
stiochiometry Cu3[(O3PCH2)2NH2] was isolated.6
The structures described, to this point, are relatively
compact, but we were able to construct open-framework
structures7 by transfer of half the protons to amino templates
and form hydrogen bonds as shown in Chart 2. Additional
H-bonds perpendicular to the plane of the open hexagons
resulted in three-dimensional structures in which the phenan-
throline templates reside in the tunnels. Prior to this work,
we had prepared8 amorphous insoluble tin(IV) nitrilotris-
(methylenephosphonates) of variable composition that be-
haved as ion exchangers.
We have now synthesized a series of complexes by
reaction of NTP with divalent transition metals in which
neutral complexes are formed. We have found that it is
possible to form open structures with H-bonding such as
shown in Chart 1c. Alternatively, dense 3-D structures were
also found to form. In this paper, we describe these
compounds in detail, using Mn(II) as the cation. A prelimi-
nary account of the more open compounds had been
presented earlier.9
Scheme 1
2.6-2.7:1 followed by refluxing or hydrothermal treatment
(130 °C) yielded Na2[(HO3PCH2)3NH]·1.5H2O.4 The struc-
ture contains Na4O16 tetramers with each sodium in octa-
hedral coordination. Each nitrilotris(methylenephosphonate
acid) group forms seven tetrahedral groups, three phospho-
nates, three about the methylene carbons, and one HNC3
group. The isolated tetramers are linked by phosphonate
bridging to create small channels parallel to the a-axis
direction. One water molecule is bonded to Na while the
other at half-occupancy resides in the channels and is
hydrogen bonded to P-OH groups.
Experimental Section
Two lead compounds of NTP have been synthesized.5 Pb-
[(H2O3PCH2)N(CH2PO3H)2] is triclinic and was prepared by
refluxing a mixture of NTP and Pb(CH3COO)2 in a molar
ratio of 8:1. The lead ion is coordinated to five phosphonate
oxygens, and the coordination sphere contains an open space
where presumably the lone pair of the lead ion is located.
There are six tetrahedra formed by the phosphonate groups,
Synthesis. The sources of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid)
were a 50% solution (Aldrich) and a solid, 97% pure (Fluka).
Although the solution contains other phosphonic acids, the products
obtained using both sources were the same.4 All other chemicals
were of reagent grade quality.
(6) Cabeza, A.; Bruque, S.; Guagliardi, A.; Aranda, M. A. G. J. Solid
State Chem. 2001, 160, 278.
(4) Martinez-Tapia, H. S.; Cabeza, A.; Bruque, S.; Pertierra, P.; Garcia-
Granda, S.; Aranda, M. A. G. J. Solid State Chem. 2000, 151, 122.
(5) Cabeza, A.; Aranda, M. A. G.; Bruque, S. J. Mater. Chem. 1999, 9,
571.
(7) Sharma, C. V. K.; Clearfield, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 4394.
(8) Bortun, A. I.; Bortun, L. N.; Clearfield, A.; Khainakov, S. A.; Garcia,
J. R. SolVent Extr. Ion Exch. 1998, 16, 651.
(9) Sharma. C. V. K.; Clearfield, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 2885.
2326 Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002

Isostructural Organic-Inorganic Hybrids
Chart 2
Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1). A 2 g sample of the solid NTP was
dissolved in 20 mL of distilled deionized water (ddi), and a second
solution consisting of 0.87 mmol of Mn(CH3COO)2‚2H2O (Aldrich)
in 20 mL of water was added to it. The ratio Mn:NTP was 1:10.
At this ratio, the pH was 1.2, which was low enough to prevent
precipitation. The mixture was added to a Teflon-lined pressure
vessel and heated at 200 °C for 3 days. The precipitated solid was
isolated by filtration and washed with ddi H2O and finally with
acetone. It was dried under vacuum at ambient temperature. Anal.
Found: C, 10.40; N, 4.01; H, 3.10; C/N ) 3.02. Calcd for Mn-
[HN(CH2PO3H)3]: C, 10.34; N, 3.98; H, 2.86.
on a Pentium 450 MHz personal workstation using the SHELXTL
5.10 package.11
Compound 1, Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3]. A colorless crystal of
compound 1 of appropriate dimensions, 0.12 × 0.10 × 0.10 mm3,
was mounted on a Bruker AXS CCD platform diffractometer with
Mo KR (λ ) 0.710 73 Å) radiation at room temperature. A
hemisphere of data with 1321 frames was collected with a scan
width of 0.3° in ω and an exposure time of 20 s. Laue crystal
symmetry restraints were used during data integration with the
SAINT+ package.10 Final cell parameters were obtained by refining
the xyz centroids of 3851 strong reflections with I/σ > 10 to yield
a ) 9.129(1) Å, b ) 8.408(1) Å, c ) 13.453(1) Å, â ) 97.830-
(2)°, and V ) 1023.0(2) Å3. An absorption correction was performed
with SADABS11 and led to a transmission parameter between 1
and 0.86. Of the 5859 reflections collected, 2080 are unique (Rint
) 0.0174). A summary of crystallographic data is given in Table
1.
Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2). To 13.1 mL of a NTP solution
(50% w/w, 28.26 mmol) was added a solution containing 5.65 mmol
of manganese(II) acetate dihydrate dissolved in 10 mL of distilled
water. The resulting Mn:TPA molar ratio in the mixture was 1:5,
and the final pH ) 0.6. A white precipitate was immediately
formed. The suspension was heated in a Teflon-lined autoclave at
200 °C for 3 days. A single phase was isolated by filtration, washed
with water and with acetone, and dried. Anal. Found: C, 9.04; N,
3.44; H, 4.05; C:N ratio 3.06. Calcd: C, 8.50; N, 3.30; H, 4.24%;
C/N ratio 3.00. This phase was also obtained in micropowder form
by refluxing similar mixtures with Mn:NTP ratios of 1, 5, and 10.
Single crystals could also be obtained by the layering technique
described earlier.9
Structure Solution and Refinement. Structure solution was
performed with XL11 in space group P21/n (No. 14). The positions
of the non-hydrogen atoms were located by direct methods and
refined by full-matrix lest squares on F2 using the XS.11 All non-
hydrogen atoms were refined anisotropically. Hydrogen atoms were
located from a difference Fourier map and refined isotropically and
their bond length restrained to 0.84 Å for O-H and 0.93 Å for
C-H.
Compound 2, Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3]. A colorless crystal
of compound 2 of approximate dimensions 0.21 × 0.11 × 0.07
mm3 was mounted on a Bruker AXS CCD platform diffractometer
with Mo KR (λ ) 0.710 73 Å) radiation equipped with an Oxford
low-temperature controller. A full sphere of data with 2471 frames
Instrumental Methods. Thermal analysis was carried out with
either a Rigaku Thermoflex 8110 unit or a DuPont Thermal Analyst
950 unit at a heating rate of 10 °C/min in an air atmosphere. Infrared
spectra were recorded with a Perkin-Elmer 883 spectrometer by
the KBr disk method. C, H, and N contents were determined by
elemental chemical analysis on a Perkin-Elmer 240 Analyzer.
Crystallography. Data collection for compounds 1 and 2 were
carried out on a Bruker SMART 1000 CCD platform diffractometer
equipped with monochromated Mo KR radiation. Data collection
and reduction were performed with SMART 5.4 and SAINT+ 6.0
from Bruker AXS.10 Crystallographic computing was performed
(10) SMART version 5.0 and SAINT+ version 6.01 area detector instru-
ment control, data acquisition, and area detector data integration
software, Bruker AXS, Inc., Madison, WI.
(11) Sheldrick, G. M. SHEXTL (Xprep, SADABS, XS, XL) Crystallographic
Software Package, Version 5.1; Bruker-AXS: Madison,WI, 1998.
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002 2327

Cabeza et al.
Table 1. Crystallographic Data for Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) and Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2)
param
1
2
empirical formula
fw
MnC3H10P3O9N
351.97
MnC3H16P3O12N
406.02
temp (K)
295(2)
110(2)
wavelength (Mo KR) (Å)
0.710 73
0.710 73
P21/c (No. 14)
9.283(2)
16.027(3)
9.7742(2)
115.209(3)
1315.0(5)
4
space group
a (Å)
P21/n (No. 14)
9.1292(10)
8.4084(9)
13.4528(14)
97.830(2)
1023.04(19)
4
2.285
18.00
1.076
b (Å)
c (Å)
â (deg)
V (Å3)
Z
d
calc (g/cm3)
2.050
14.36
1.025
µ (cm-1
)
GOF (F2)
Ra [F2, I > 2σ(I)]
R1 ) 0.0237, wR2 ) 0.0670
R1 ) 0.0266, wR2 ) 0.0607
a R1 ) Σ||Fo| - |Fc|/Σ|Fo|; wR2 ) {Σ[w(Fo - Fc )2]/Σ[w(Fo )2]}1/2, w ) 1/[σ2(Fo ) + (aP)2 + bP].
2
2
2
2
was collected with a scan width of 0.3° in ω and an exposure time
of 20 s at -110 K. Laue crystal symmetry restraints were used in
data integration with the SAINT+10 package. Final cell parameters
were obtained by refining the xyz centroids of 1024 strong
reflections with 2 Å between 5.48 and 56.48°. The refined unit
cell parameters are a ) 9.283(1) Å, b ) 16.027(3) Å, c ) 9.774-
(2) Å, â ) 115.209(3)°, and V ) 1315.7(4) Å3. A face-indexing
absorption correction was performed with Xprep11 and led to a
transmission parameter between 0.776 and 0.905. Of the 15 981
reflections collected, 3238 are unique (Rint ) 0.039).
Structure solution for compound 2 was performed with the
SHELXTL11 package in space group P21/c (No. 14). The positions
of the non-hydrogen atoms were located by direct methods and
refined by full-matrix least squares on F2 as for compound 1. All
non-hydrogen atoms were refined anistropically. Hydrogen atoms
were located from difference Fourier maps and refined isotropically,
and their bond lengths were restrained to 0.84 Å for O-H and
0.93 Å for C-H. Crystallographic data for 2 are summarized in
Table 1.
Figure 1. ORTEP representation of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1), showing
the nitrilotris(methylenephosphonate) ligand conformation and its bonding
to Mn atoms. The ellipsoids are at the 50% probability level.
square pyramid with bond distances ranging from 2.094(2)
to 2.174(2) Å (Table 2 and Figure 2). The Mn atom is slightly
above or below the plane of the pyramid base as shown by
the fact that all the Oax-Mn-Oeq bond angles are greater
than 90°. The axial Mn-O bond is the longest of the five at
2.174(2) Å, but the oxygen is also close to an adjacent Mn
atom at 2.852(2) Å. This oxygen is in the position to fill the
sixth site of an octahedron but at a distance too great to be
bonded to the second manganese atom. However, it has the
effect of blocking the axial sixth coordination site, preventing
the formation of MnO6 octahedra. This long interatomic
distance is indicated by a thick dash line from O7 to Mn in
Figure 2 and Figure 1. Only O9 of the nonprotonated
phosphonate oxygens does not bond to manganese.
In the phosphonate groups, the oxygens bonded to a proton
exhibit significantly longer P-O bond lengths (average
1.568(3) Å) than the others (average 1.502(4) Å). The final
difference map did reveal regions of weak, positive density
at 0.82-0.90 Å from these oxygen atoms. A similar region
of positive density was found near the nitrogen atom. There
are no water molecules in the structure.
Results
We have explored the possible compounds that can be
obtained by the reaction of a Mn(II) salt and nitrilotris-
(methylenephosphonic acid). The variables examined were
the NTP acid source, the Mn:NTP molar ratio (between 1:1
and 1:10), and the heating conditions (reflux or hydrother-
mal). Only two compounds were obtained under the experi-
mental conditions tested that could be isolated as single
phases. A fixed stoichiometry, Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3], is
always obtained but with different hydration degrees: either
three-hydrated or anhydrous.
Crystal Structure of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1). The
positional parameters and Ueq values are listed in the
Supporting Information Table S2. An ORTEP representation
of part of the structure is shown in Figure 1, illustrating the
conformation of the nitrilotris(methylenephosphonate) group-
ing and its bonding to manganese. The angles about the
nitrogen average 109.4°, confirming that it is protonated. One
oxygen of each of the three phosphonate groups is also
protonated, and the other two bond to Mn atoms. Each Mn
is coordinated by 5 oxygen atoms from five different
phosphonate groups, two of the P1 type, two of the P2 type,
and one from a P3 group. These oxygens form a distorted
Figure 3 presents a view of the structure looking down
the a axis. There are rows of Mn atoms bridged by O-P-O
phosphonate groups running parallel to the b-axis direction
at roughly c ) 1/4 and 3/4 and b close to 0 and 1/2. There are
two sets of phosphonate bridges across Mn atoms. One group
is alternately above and below the row of Mn atoms in the
2328 Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002

Isostructural Organic-Inorganic Hybrids
Table 2. Selected Bond Lengths (Å) and Angles (deg) for
Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1)a
Bonds
Mn1-O2a
Mn1-O6b
Mn1-O1
Mn1-O4c
Mn1-O7d
P2-O6
2.094(2)
2.137(2)
2.160(2)
2.163(2)
2.174(2)
1.494(2)
1.511(2)
1.570(2)
1.822(2)
1.502(3)
P1-O2
P1-O1
P1-O3
P1-C1
N1-C1
P3-O9
P3-O7
P3-O8
P3-C3
N1-C3
1.496(2)
1.508(2)
1.571(2)
1.823(2)
1.505(3)
1.495(2)
1.506(2)
1.564(2)
1.823(2)
1.509(3)
P2-O4
P2-O5
P2-C2
N1-C2
Angles
O2a-Mn1-O6b
O2a-Mn1-O4c
O2a-Mn1-O1
O2a-Mn1-O7d
O4c-Mn1-O7d
O2-P1-O1
98.61(6)
92.25(6)
166.96(6)
94.61(6)
91.71(6)
119.36(9)
115.68(9)
120.00(10)
113.3(2)
113.1(2)
111.4(2)
114.1(2)
O4c-Mn1-O1
O4c-Mn1-O6b
O6b-Mn1-O1
O6b-Mn1-O7d
O7d-Mn1-O1
P1-O2-Mn1f
P1-O1-Mn1
P2-O4-Mn1g
P2-O6-Mn1b
P3-O7-Mn1h
N1-C2-P2
82.75(6)
158.55(6)
80.87(6)
104.23(6)
98.15(6)
155.37(11)
131.29(9)
141.09(9)
137.24(10)
130.14(10)
120.4(1)
O6-P2-O4
O9-P3-O7
C1-N-C2
C1-N-C3
C2-N-C3
N1-C1-P1
N1-C3-P3
117.3(1)
a Symmetry transformations used to generate equivalent atoms: a, -x
+ 1/2, y + 1/2, -z + 3/2; b, -x, -y, -z + 1; c, x + 1/2, -y - 1/2, z + 1/2;
d, x - 1/2, -y - 1/2, z + 1/2; e, -x + 1/2, y - 1/2, -z + 3/2; f, x + 1/2, -y
Figure 3. Packing diagram of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) as viewed down
the a axis. Two unit cells are shown for emphasis of the interchain
connections and ring systems. Hydrogen bonds are depicted by thin dashed
lines, and the O7-Mn nonbonded position is depicted by thick dashed lines.
The 8-, 16-, and 24-member rings are indicated by letters A-C.
1
1
1
1
1
- /2, z - /2; g, x - /2, -y - /2, z - /2; h, -x + 1, -y - 1, -z + 1;
1
1
1
i, -x + /2, y + /2, -z + /2.
The chains of manganese phosphonate are connected to
each other by covalent bonds, arising from the tetrahedral
conformation of the nitrilotris(phosphonate) groups. The
bridging phosphonate group, exemplified by O1-P1-O2,
in Figure 4, extends through C1, N1, C3, P3, and O7 to bond
1
to a metal atom in the chain at c ) /4 and through C2, P2,
1
O4, and O6 bridges to a second chain. The chain at c ) /4
in the lower corner of the unit cell is also connected to the
upper chain at c ) 3/4 through the NTP group whose nitrogen
atom is designated by N1′′. In fact, the two NTP groups
connecting these two chains are related by a center of
symmetry and together with the two Mn atoms, form a 16-
membered ring B. This ring consists of 2 Mn, 2 N, 4 P, 4 C,
and 4 O and is flanked by the eight-membered rings. Within
this circle of the two 8-membered rings and one 16-
membered ring, there are four hydrogen bonds, two N1-
H‚‚‚O9 type at 2.687(2) Å (see Table 3) and two O5-
H‚‚‚O9, 2.697(2) Å (perhaps more clearly seen in Figure
3).
There is yet another ring system C formed by the
nitrilotris(phosphonate) groups. It is sandwiched between the
two 8- and one 16-membered rings spread over two unit cells.
It appears as a long, narrow 24-membered ring, half in the
upper unit cell and half in the bottom one, consisting of 4
Mn, 2 N, 6 P, 4 C, and 8 O. Within its confines are two
Mn‚‚‚O7 weak interactions at 2.85 Å and two additional
types of hydrogen bonds O3-H‚‚‚O1, 2.780(2) Å, and O8-
H‚‚‚O4, 2.524(2) Å (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Ball-and-stick representation of the bridging mode of the
phosphonate groups across adjacent Mn atoms in Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1),
showing how the 5-fold square pyramidal coordination arises. The thick
dash line connecting O7 to Mn represents the long 2.85 Å nonbonded
interatomic distance.
a-axis direction (O4-P2-O6). The other group is nearly at
right angles to the first, alternately in the plus and minus
b-axis direction (O1-P1-O2). This connectivity results in
the formation of eight-membered rings, which are partially
folded back on themselves (Mn-O1-P1-O2-Mn-O6-
P2-O4). The fifth Mn coordination site is filled by O7
originating from P3 and occupies the apex of the square
pyramid. At the same time, this oxygen atom is 2.85 Å away
from an adjacent Mn in the chain and is situated opposite to
the O7 bonded to this neighboring Mn atom. As a result, it
blocks the sixth coordination site at the metal atoms. The
Mn-Mn distance within a chain is 4.243(1) Å, close enough
to exhibit some magnetic interaction. The interchain distance
is 7.469(7) Å as can be seen in Figure 4.
Figure 4 presents a view down the b axis. The Mn atoms
anchoring the chains running parallel to the b-axis direction
now appear in projection as slightly displaced although they
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002 2329

Cabeza et al.
Figure 4. Packing diagram of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) as viewed down the b axis. The NTP ligand is shown directly bonding to five Mn atoms by its three
phosphonate groups. Hydrogen bonds are shown by thin dashed lines.
Table 3. Hydrogen Bonds for [Mn(HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) (Å and deg)a
D-H‚‚‚A
d(D-H)
d(H‚‚‚A)
d(D‚‚‚A)
<(DHA)
O3-H3C‚‚‚O1b
N1-H1C‚‚‚O9h
O8-H8A‚‚‚O4i
O5-H5A‚‚‚O9g
0.82
0.91
0.82
0.82
1.96
1.93
1.70
1.89
2.779(2)
2.687(2)
2.524(2)
2.696(2)
173.1
139.4
172.3
168.1
a Symmetry transformations used to generate equivalent atoms: a, -x
+ 1/2, y + 1/2, -z + 3/2; b, -x, -y, -z + 1; c, x + 1/2, -y - 1/2, z + 1/2;
d, x - 1/2, -y - 1/2, z + 1/2; e, -x + 1/2, y - 1/2, -z + 3/2; f, x + 1/2, -y
1
1
1
1
1
- /2, z - /2; g, x - /2, -y - /2, z - /2; h, -x + 1, -y - 1, -z + 1;
1
1
1
I, -x + /2, y + /2, -z + /2.
Figure 5. ORTEP drawing of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2), showing
the octahedral coordination of Mn by three water molecules and three
phosphonate oxygens. Two phosphonate groups of the same nitrilotris-
(methylenephosphonate) bond to the same Mn forming an eight-membered
ring through chelation.
1
are /2b apart. The O1, P1, and O2 phosphonate group of
the N1 nitrilo nitrogen bridges across two adjacent Mn atoms
at c ) 3/4 and a = 1/4 and connects through N1 to an adjacent
chain by an O7-Mn bond at approximately 1/2a, 1/2c away.
The 3D network is further reinforced by an elaborate
system of hydrogen bonds as indicated in Table 3. The
hydrogen bonds in Figures 3 and 4 are indicated by thin
dashed lines. Oxygen atoms 3, 5, and 8 are protonated and
act as donors to O1, O4, and O9. O9 is bonded only to
phosphorus and is therefore able to accept a second H-bond
from the HN group.
Crystal Structure of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2). In
compound 2, the manganese displaces two protons, leaving
one proton on each acid group and one on the nitrogen as
for compound 1. However, in this case, there are three water
molecules bonded to each metal atom. An ORTEP presenta-
tion in Figure 5 shows the conformation of the nitrilotris-
(methylenephosphonate) together with the coordination of
the Mn atoms. The Mn-O bond distances range from 2.118
to 2.202 Å, and the bond angles are close to those for an
octahedral geometry. An interesting aspect of this structure
is that the metal atoms form an eight-membered ring with
two phosphonate groups of the same NTP molecule; i.e.,
only one Mn is present in the ring. The P3 oxygens, O7,
O8, and O9, are only involved in hydrogen bonding.
The manganese atoms form a zigzig chain parallel to the
c-axis direction, as shown in Figure 6. The metal atoms are
connected by O4-P2-O6 phosphonate bridges to form the
chains. The O4-P2 portion of this bridge also forms part of
the eight-membered chelate ring. Only three of the nine
phosphonate oxygens (O1, O4, O6) are utilized in bonding
to the metal atoms, three additional oxygen atoms (O2, O5,
O9) are protonated, and the remaining three oxygen atoms
serve as hydrogen bond acceptors.
The chains have a corrugated appearance as described
earlier.9 The chains are connected to each other through
hydrogen bonds as depicted in Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 6,
there are two types of hydrogen bonds between adjacent
chains, O9-H‚‚‚O3, 2.586(2) Å, and N-H‚‚‚O8, 2.725(2)
Å. There is also an intrachain hydrogen bond O2-H‚‚‚O7,
2.619(2) Å. In Figure 7, the chains parallel to the c-axis
direction are represented by two yellow spheres showing the
zigzag arrangement of the metal atoms. The three water
molecules form six hydrogen bonds (Table 4), mostly in the
a-axis direction, whereas the HN‚‚‚O8 and O9-H‚‚‚O3
hydrogen bonds connect with adjacent chains in the b-axis
direction. As a result, the hydrogen bonds create a three-
dimensional network of hydrogen-bonded linear chains. The
overall effect is to create what appears to be two-dimensional
corrugated sheets that nest within each other running along
the ab diagonal. However, these sheets are made up of
individual chains where the nonbonding P3, O7, O8, and
O9 phosphonate groups overlap, as shown in Figure 7.
2330 Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002

Isostructural Organic-Inorganic Hybrids
Table 4. Hydrogen Bonds for [Mn(HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2) (Å and
deg)a
D-H‚‚‚A
d(D-H)
d(H‚‚‚A)
d(D‚‚‚A)
<(DHA)
N1-H1‚‚‚O8c
0.93
1.87
2.725(2)
2.619(2)
2.686(2)
2.586(2)
2.881(2)
3.160(2)
3.008(2)
2.728(2)
2.711(2)
2.766(2)
2.774(2)
151.6
O2-H2‚‚‚O7a
0.832(17)
0.825(18)
0.817(17)
0.833(17)
0.823(17)
0.823(17)
0.838(17)
0.846(17)
0.825(17)
0.811(17
1.808(19)
1.872(19)
1.773(17)
2.051(17)
2.43(2)
164(3)
169(3)
173(3)
174(3)
148(3)
115(2)
166(3)
167(3)
169(3)
137(3)
O5-H5‚‚‚O7d
O9-H9‚‚‚O3c
O10-H10B‚‚‚O1b
O10-H10A‚‚‚O9e
O10-H10A‚‚‚O2
O11-H11A‚‚‚O3f
O11-H11B‚‚‚O8f
O12-H12A‚‚‚O7d
O12-H12B‚‚‚O4a
2.57(3)
1.907(19)
1.880(18)
1.951(18)
2.13(2)
a Symmetry transformations used to generate equivalent atoms: a, x,
1
1
1
1
-y + /2, z + /2; b, x, -y + /2, z - /2; c, -x + 3, -y + 1, z + 2; d, x
1
1
1
-1, y, z; e, -x + 3, y - /2, -z + 3/2; f, x - 1, -y + /2, z - /2.
340, 368, and 463 °C resulting from the destruction of the
organic material and the formation of Mn2P4O12 above 700
°C. Because the end product contains less phosphorus than
the original manganese phosphonate, 0.5 mol of P2O5 is lost.
There is a very broad endotherm above 500 °C that may be
due to this final loss. The overall reaction can be represented
as follows:
Figure 6. Packing diagram of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2) as viewed
down the a axis, depicting the complex chains running parallel to the c
axis. Hydrogen bonds are represented by dashed lines.
2Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3](s) + 25/2O2(g) f
Mn2P4O12(s) + P2O5(g) + 6CO2(g) + 2NO2(g) +
10H2O(g)
We note in Table 4 that there are three hydrogen bonds
to O7 as acceptor atom. This high participation in hydrogen
bonding is unusual and rare. The effect is to lengthen the
P3-O7 bond. In the P3 phosphonate group the bond lengths
are P3-O7, 1.522(2), P3-O8, 1.504(2), and P3-O9-H,
1.566(2) Å. In the other two phosphonate groups, the
protonated oxygen atoms have similarly longer P-O bonds,
but the remaining shorter P-O bonds range from 1.502(2)
to 1.509(2) Å. Thus, the P3-O7 bond is significantly longer
than the P-O bonds of the nonprotonated oxygens. This
suggests that this O7 finds itself in a more positive force
field, resulting from the close approach of three hydrogen
atoms. The consequence is the lengthening of the P-O bond.
Thermal Analysis. The combined TGA-DTA curves for
Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] are shown in Figure 8a. Since the
compound is anhydrous, there is no recorded weight loss
until decomposition sets in. There are three exotherms at
The total observed weight loss was 39.1% compared to a
theoretical value of 39.51%.
TGA-DTA curves for Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] are
shown in Figure 8b. The DTA curve shows an endothermic
and three exothermic effects. The strong endotherm, centered
at 200 °C, is due to the loss of hydration water molecules.
The calculated weight loss for this process is 13.5%, and
the observed loss is the ≈15.5%. However, it is difficult to
determine this weight loss accurately as this process is
slightly overlapped with the weight loss due to the combus-
tion of the organic fraction. This process starts to take place
at 385 °C, as a strong exothermic effect. Two other weak
exotherms centered at 450 and 580 °C can be observed. The
Figure 7. Packing diagram of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2) as viewed down the c axis, which emphasizes the hydrogen bonding that knits the chains
into corrugated layers. Oxygens O7, O8, and O9 participate in hydrogen bonding to other chains but do not bond to metal atoms.
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002 2331

Cabeza et al.
Figure 9. Infrared spectra of (a) Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) and (b) Mn-
[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3] (2).
Figure 8. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential thermal analysis
(DTA) curves for (a) Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] (1) and (b) Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3-
(H2O)3] (2).
the water content, crystalline Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] is not
obtained by gentle heating of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3].
This is due to the very different crystal structures of the two
compounds discussed below. The relatively high temperature
at which the water molecules are lost is also understood on
the basis of its crystal structure.
Infrared Spectra. The infrared spectrum of Mn[HN(CH2-
PO3H)3] is given in Figure 9a. The very broad band centered
at 2900 cm-1 is attributed to the O-H and N-H stretching
vibrations. The broadness of the band is due to the range of
hydrogen bond strengths as shown by the d(donor-acceptor)
values. The CH2 stretching vibrations appear as weak, but
sharp bands near 3000 cm-1 superimposed on the broad band.
The multiple bands in the region of 900-1200 cm-1 are
phosphonate P-O vibrations and are similar to bands for
Na2[(HO3PCH2)3NH]‚1.5H2O.4 The band at 1650 cm-1 is
normally due to the water bending vibration. However, the
compound is anhydrous. A similar band occurs in the
anhydrous lead compounds.5 This band may be a combina-
TG curve shows a continuous weight loss in this region. The
final thermal decomposition product at 1000 °C has a powder
diffraction pattern that matches that of Mn2P4O12 (PDF
database No. 36-0210), and no other peaks are present in
the pattern. The proposed thermal decomposition reaction
for the bulk material heated at 1000 °C is
2Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3](s) + 25/2O2(g) f
Mn2P4O12(s) + P2O5(g) + 6CO2(g) + 2NO2(g) +
16H2O(g)
A thermodiffractometric study of Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3-
(H2O)3] was carried out to determine if it is transformed into
crystalline Mn[HN(CH2PO3H)3] before thermal combustion.
The data showed that the water loss is accompanied by the
formation of an amorphous compound between 150 and 200
°C. Although the difference in the chemical formula is only
2332 Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002

Isostructural Organic-Inorganic Hybrids
tion band or overtone from the strong bands observed at low
wavelengths.
The anhydrous compound was obtained only when the
ratio of NTP to Mn was 10 or greater. Otherwise, the
trihydrate forms and was found to yield an isomorphous
series of complexes M[HN(CH2PO3H)3(H2O)3], M ) Mn,
Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, and even mixed derivatives of the type Zn
and Cd.9 These results indicate that it is the hydrogen bonding
that dictates the final structure. While the ligand utilized five
oxygens in covalent bonding to Mn in the anhydrous
compound, only three oxygens, O1, O4, and O6, are utilized
for this purpose in the trihydrate. Three oxygens, O2, O5,
and O9, retain their protons and, together with NH, form
moderately strong hydrogen bonds (D‚‚‚A, 2.59-2.73 Å)
to the three nonbonding oxygens, O3, O7, and O8. The O9-
H‚‚‚O3 and NH‚‚‚O8 hydrogen bonds occur across adjacent
chains as shown in Figure 6. Each water molecule utilizes
both of its hydrogens to achieve a maximum level of
hydrogen bonding. For this reason, no water is lost to slightly
above 200 °C.
In summary, we have shown in this and other publica-
tions7,9 that nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) can form
hexagonal porous three-dimensional structures encapsulating
a template, layered structures with intercalated templates,
linear polymers, dense structures,4,5 and the isomorphous
open-structured hydrates by proper manipulation of the
protons. Phosphonic acids in general form very strong
hydrogen bonds2 and therefore can serve as a family of
synthons for crystal-engineered structures as we will dem-
onstrate in future publications.
The IR spectrum of the trihydrate was recorded between
4000 and 400 cm-1 and is shown in Figure 9b. There are
two intense doublets at 3580 and 3510 cm-1 and 3370 and
3265 cm-1, respectively. These bands are due to the H-OH
stretching vibration of the water molecules. The very broad
band centered at ∼2900 cm-1 is due to the N-H stretching,
and the shoulder at ∼2300 cm-1 is related to the hydrogen
phosphonate, PO-H, groups. The C-H stretching vibrations
are observed as sharp, weak bands close to 3000 cm-1. Three
sharp bands centered at 1690, 1640, and 1600 are due to the
bending H-O-H vibration of the hydration water. The
remaining vibration bands are typical of the nitrilotris-
(methylenetriphosphonate) salts.
Discussion
Recently, we found that monodeprotonation of nitrilotris-
(methylenephosphonic acid) with amines results in formation
of three-dimensional hexagonal structures with encapsulation
of the amine7 as indicated in Scheme 1 of the Introduction.
These structures are held together by very strong hydrogen
bonds. Double deprotonation of NTP by amines led to
layered compounds with the amines intercalated between the
layers. Double deprotonation of NTP by NaOH yielded a
tetramer,4 while use of Pb2+ to doubly deprotonate NTP
yielded two layered compounds.5 In this study, it was found
that divalent transition metal cations, as well as Zn2+ and
Cd2+, displaced two protons while protonation of the central
nitrogen, through zwitterion formation, left only one hydro-
gen on each phosphonate group. This arrangement of protons
and negatively charged phosphonate oxygens allows for a
maximum level of hydrogen bonding.
In the case of the anhydrous compound 1, all four
protonated atoms form hydrogen bonds with one acceptor
oxygen in each of the three phosphonate branches of NTP.
Oxygen atom O9, which does not bond to Mn, accepts two
H-bonds, one from the nitrilo nitrogen and one from O5.
The other two acceptor atoms, O1 and O4, are also covalently
bonded to a manganese atom.
Acknowledgment. We acknowledge, with thanks, sup-
port for this research under the Robert A. Welch Foundation,
Grant No. A-0673, and under the National Science Founda-
tion, Grant No. CHE-98 07975, for the purchase of the
Bruker-AXS SMART CCD area detector system.
Supporting Information Available: X-ray crystallographic
tables for structures 1 and 2, including atomic coordinates, bonds
and angles, anisotropic thermal factors, and hydrogen atom posi-
tions. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at
http://pubs.acs.org.
IC0110373
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 9, 2002 2333