Surfactant-encapsulated clusters (SECs):: (DODA)20(NH4)[H3Mo57V6(NO)6O183(H2O)18], a case study

We present a comprehensive study of the partially reduced polyoxomolybdate [H3Mo57V6(NO)(6)O-183(H2O)(18)](21-) encapsulated in a shell of dimethyldioctadecylammonium (DODA) surfactant molecules. Treatment of an aqueous solution of (NH4)(21)[H3Mo57V6-(NO)(6)O-183(H2O)(18)]. 65H(2)O (1a) with a trichloromethane solution of the surfactant leads to instant transfer of the encapsulated complex anion into the organic phase. Results from vibrational spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, elemental analysis, and Langmuir compression isotherms are consistent with a single polyoxometalate core encapsulated within a shell of 20 DODA molecules. The molar mass of the supramolecular assembly is 20 249 g mol(-1) and the diameter is 3.5nm. A material with the empirical formula (DODA)(20)(NH4)[H-3-Mo57V6(NO)(6)O-183(H2O)(18)] (2) was isolated as a dark violet solid, which readily dissolves in organic solvents. Slow evaporation of solutions of 2 on solid substrates forces the hydrophobic particles to aggregate into a cubic lattice. Annealing these so-formed films at elevated temperature causes de-wetting with terrace formation similar to liquid crystals and block copolymers. Compound 2 forms a stable Langmuir monolayer at the air-water interface; Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers are readily prepared by repeated transfer of monolayers on solid substrates. The films were characterized by optical ellipsometry, Brewster angle microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray reflectance.