Bismuth ladder polymers:: structural and thermal studies of [Bi(OCH2CH2)3N]n and [(BixTb1-x(O2C2H2)3N•2H2O]n

[Bi(OCH2CH2)(3)N],(Bi(TEA)), may be prepared by reaction of in situ generated Bi(OH)(3) with triethanolamine in refluxing methanol. The complex crystallizes from solution as a double ladder polymer via the formation of additional metal-oxygen dative bonds to yield hypercoordinate and hypervalent metal centers. The structure of Bi(TEA) is very similar to that of Bi(O2CCH3)(3)N. The heterobimetallic nitriloacetate complex containing Bi and Tb was prepared by reaction of (NH4)(3)[Bi(Nta)(2)] with terbium nitrate in aqueous solution. Heating samples of [Bi(OCH2CH2)(3)N](n) to 1000 degreesC results in the formation of Bi2O3. It was shown that thermolysis of the [(BixTb1-x(O2C2H2)(3)N).H2O](n) occurs in two stages, viz. the deaquation and pyrolysis of the ligand. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.