A Series of Cube-Shaped Polyoxoniobates Encapsulating Octahedral Cu12X m O n Clusters With Hydrolytic Decomposition for Chemical Warfare Agents

Abstract

This study reported a series of cube-shaped polyoxoniobates, {MCu₁₂O₈)(Cu₁₂X_mO_n)(Nb₇(OH)O₂₁)₈} [M = Nb(1, 2), Ln³⁺(3), X = I(1, m = 3, n = 3; 2, m = 5, n = 1), Br(3, m = 5, n = 1)]. As the first octahedral Cu₁₂X_mO_n cluster incorporated polyoxoniobate, the cube-shaped three-shell structure of {MCu₁₂O₈)(Cu₁₂X_mO_n)(Nb₇(OH)O₂₁)₈} polyanion contains a {MCu₁₂O₈} body-centered cuboctahedron, a {Cu₁₂X_mO_n} octahedron and a {Cu₁₂(Nb₇(OH)O₂₁)₈} cube. Compounds 1, 2, 3 show effective catalytic activities for the hydrolytic decomposition of chemical warefare agent simulants.

Keywords: base-catalysis; chemical warfare agent simulant; cube-shaped; polyoxoniobates; three shell.