High-Nuclearity Metal-Organic Nanospheres: A Cd66 Ball

Reaction of H3L with Cd(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O in DMF at 150 degrees C for 3 days affords the metal-organic nanosphere [Cd-66(mu(3)-OH)(28)(mu(3)-O)(16)(mu(5)-NO3-O,O,O',O',O '',O '')(12)(L)(20)(mu(2)-DMF)(12)subset of(DMF)(9)]. The cluster is composed of a spherical shell of 66 Cd(II) cations bridged by 28 mu(3)-hydroxide, 16 mu(3)-oxo, and five mu(5)-NO3- anions surrounded by a shell of 20 tripodal capping ligands (L) and 12 DMF ligands. The 66 Cd(II) cations and 12 NO3- anions form a polydeltahedron that has 78 vertices [Cd(II) or NO3-] (V), 228 edges (E), and 152 triangular faces (F), giving it an Euler characteristic (chi) of 2 (chi = V + F - E). Reaction of H3L with Cd(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O at lower temperatures or with CdCl2 affords coordination polymer frameworks instead of nanospheres.