Synthesis and Structural Characterisation of a Hexanuclear GdIII Compound Gd6(μ3-OH)6(acac)12·1.25 CHCl3 as a Potential Precursor for Gd2O3 Nanomaterials

Abstract

While aging the reaction mixture of gadolinium tri-isopropoxide with acetylacetone (pentane-2,4- dione, acacH) in a 1 : 2 molar ratio in toluene for crystalisation, crystals of Gd6(μ3-OH)6(acac)12・1.25 CHCl3 (1) were obtained in high yield. The crystal structure analysis reveals that 1 has a M6O12 core which is constituted of two distorted, tricapped, face-sharing cubane units (each with one missing edge) wherein the metal atoms are octacoordinated with a distorted square-antiprismatic geometry. In a sol-gel treatment the amorphous xerogel obtained from 1 was transformed into a nano-crystalline product at 600 °C while the xerogel of Gd(OPri)3 under similar conditions required a heat treatment up to 900 °C for the same development.