New Hexanuclear Niobium Cluster Compounds with Pyridine and <i>N</i>‐Methylpyrrolidone Ligands: [Nb₆Cl₁₂(Pyr)₆][AlCl₄]₂ and [Nb₆Cl₁₂(NMP)₆][GaCl₄]₂

Abstract

Abstract The study is focused on the preparation, characterization, and structure elucidation of two new molecular cluster complexes of niobium, one with an aromatic N donor ligand, the other one with an O‐carboxamide ligand: [Nb 6 Cl 12 (Pyr) 6 ][AlCl 4 ] 2 ( 1 ) (Pyr = pyridine) and [Nb 6 Cl 12 (NMP) 6 ][GaCl 4 ] 2 ( 2 ) (NMP = N ‐methyl‐pyrrolidone). The synthesis of such substituted niobium cluster compounds, starting from easily accessible A 4 I [Nb 6 Cl 18 ] ( A I = alkali metal cation) materials is best done using a two‐step protocol. First the solid state precursor is heated together with acetonitrile and in the second step the ligand exchange is performed. The molecular structures of 1 and 2 in the solid state were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The infrared spectrum of 1 was recorded as well.