Synthesis and characterization of aluminum phosphate nanobuilding-block clusters

CHED 1253

Michelle C. Silva, msilva@cse.edu, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Rd, Morristown, NJ 07960
Since aluminum phosphates were first recognized over twenty years ago, they have received much attention as a result of their potential applications in the study of microporous materials. Previously, multiple clusters have been successfully synthesized and characterized. These clusters involve using aluminum and phosphorous precursors in their synthesis where the phosphorus precursor is observed to be the determining factor of the core structure. As a result, one can vary the architecture of the core by varying the phosphorous precursor used. In this study, the reactivity of aluminum, phenylphosphinic acid in linear alcohol solvent was fully studied. As a result, a novel aluminum phosphate structure was synthesized. IR spectroscopy, TG analysis, solid-state NMR, and single crystal x-ray diffraction were used in characterization. Consequently, the novel structure was found to have a tri-cylic [Al2P3O6] inorganic core with a P/Al molar ratio of 3/2, making it a unique aluminum phosphate cluster.