Organic Ligands Made Porous: Magnetic and Catalytic Properties of Transition Metals Coordinated to the Surfaces of Mesoporous Organosilica

The coordination of metal cations by ligands is one fundamental interaction in chemistry, Both ionic and covalent interactions play a role. Due to its dative nature, coordinative bonding is reversible in a large number of cases. The reversibility is the most important reason for the application of coordination compounds in a large number of different fields. Just a few examples are the binding of alkanethiols on gold surfaces as the basis for the formation of self. assembled monolayers (SAMS),I1] metalorganic framework materials (MOFs),I21 and coordination compounds in homogeneous catalysis and in bioinorganic context. It is tempting to bridge from catalytically active, molecular compounds to heterogeneous catalysis,13] and there has been a tremendous and long-lasting effort in the immobilization of molecular catalysts on solid supports.14] Silica represents the dominant support material because of the numerous possibilities for shaping and surface modificationp,6] For instance, silica with an internal surface area of up to 1000 m g 1 came into focus after