L. Cronin, A. Müller
Oct 22, 2012
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Abstract
Polyoxometalate cluster science has come a long way since the first description of molybdenum blue in 1778 by the famous Swedish chemist Scheele. Interestingly, it was considered as an extremely exciting discovery even at that time as the corresponding paper was translated from the Swedish into French and included under the title ‘‘Sur la Mine de Plomb ou Molybdène’’ in the series of ‘‘Observations sur la Physique, sur l’Histoire Naturelle et sur les Arts’’ by M. L’Abbé Rozier and M. J. A. Mongez le jeune, which collected important scientific publications of the time. Some time later, in 1826, Berzelius described the yellow precipitate that is produced when ammonium molybdate is added in excess to phosphoric acid, which is now known as the textbook example (NH4)3[PMo12O40]aq. Since this time the advances have been growing at an ever increasing rate. Polyoxometalates, a class of soluble metal oxides occupying a middle region between the monomeric metalates and the infinite metal-oxides, span a wide range of size, nuclearity, composition and physical properties that is quite breathtaking. In addition, the related research is highly interdisciplinary. The developments in polyoxometalate chemistry have been particularly remarkable and rapid since the early 1980s, facilitated by developments in instrumental analytics, and characterized by the explosion in published structural data whereby many hundreds, if not thousands, of new polyoxometalate clusters are added to the literature every year. So, what represents the state of the art, and what are the options for the future? This themed issue of Chemical Society Reviews dedicated to Polyoxometalate Cluster Science answers these questions a School of Chemistry, WestCHEM, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK. E-mail: lee.cronin@glasgow.ac.uk b Fakultät für Chemie, Universität Bielefeld, Postfach 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany. E-mail: a.mueller@uni-bielefeld.de w Part of a themed issue covering the latest developments in polyoxometalate science.