Novel application of imidazole-based ligand-templated borates in a zinc-air battery.

Two templated borates, [Co(1-EI)2]·[B5O7(OH)3] (1) and [Ga(1-MI)2·B6O9(OH)4]·[H3BO3]·H[1-MI] (2), have been synthesized using a mild method. Notably, they exhibit an excellent ORR performance with an E1/2 value of 0.84 V and are the first to be used as the positive electrode catalyst for a zinc-air battery, which opens a pathway for the application of borate-based oxide catalysts.

Exploration of the oxygen reduction reaction activity of four transition metal borates: synthesis, structure and characterization.

Four new transition metal borates, [Co(1-MI)2]·B5O7(OH)3 (1, 1-MI = 1-methylimidazole), Co2(PZ)8(SO4)2·2H3BO3 (2, PZ = pyrazole), K7{(BO3)Co[B12O18(OH)6]}·H2O (3) and K2{[Ni(PY)2]2·[(C4H2O6)2B]}2 (4, PY = pyridine), have been successfully synthesized by a mild method. Their structures were determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction. These compounds were further characterized by FTIR, PXRD and UV-vis-NIR. It is worth noting that the catalytic properties of catalysts based on these four borates were explored, and that organically templated borate 1- and 2-based catalysts showed better ORR catalytic performance compared to 3- and 4-based catalysts. This may be caused by the supramolecular skeletons of 1 and 2 providing sufficient space and porosity.

The crystal structure and oxygen reduction reaction of Ni(II)-complex templated borate-sulfate and borate.

Three nickel borate compounds, [Ni(1-MI)6]·[B(OH)3]4·SO4 (1-MI = 1-methylimidazole) (1), [Ni(H2O)3(1-MI)3]·[B5O6(OH)4]2 (2) and [Ni(DMA3)]·[B6O7(OH)6]·3.5H2O (DMA3 = N,N-dimethylethylenediamine) (3), have been synthesized. It is noteworthy that the structures of 1 and 2 can be adjusted by varying the ratio of amine. Compound 3 has shown an unexpected example of unique water clusters in its structure. The three frameworks exhibit different interlinkage modes, resulting in channels varying in their size and shape. These compounds have been characterized by FTIR, UV-vis and PXRD. In addition, 1, 2, and 3 exhibited different wide band gaps (4.4 eV for 1, 4.5 eV for 2 and 4.4 eV for 3), and ORR activities with a half-wave potential of 0.78 V for 1, 0.74 V for 2 and 0.79 V for 3.

Recent Advances in Crystalline Oxidopolyborate Complexes of d-Block or p-Block Metals: Structural Aspects, Syntheses, and Physical Properties.

Crystalline materials containing hybrid inorganic-organic metal borates (complexes with oxidoborate ligands) display a variety of novel framework building blocks. The structural aspects of these hybrid metallaoxidoborates containing Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Ga(III), In(III), Mn(II), Ni(II) or Zn(II) metal centers are discussed in this review. The review describes synthetic approaches to these hybrid materials, their physical properties, their spectroscopic properties and their potential applications.

Trinuclear Cd3O14 hexaborate and two nickel borates based on molten salt synthesis and precursor synthesis: structure, characterization, and properties.

In this work, different synthetic methods were used to prepare metal borates. One cadmium borate Cd3[B6O9(OH)2]2·2NO3·4H2O (1) and two nickel borate Ni0.8Mn0.2{B6O7(OH)3[O(CH2)2NH2]3} (2), [Ni(1-MI)6]·[B5O6(OH)4]2·2DMF (3, 1-MI = 1-methylimidazole, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) species were successfully prepared. The structures of these three compounds were confirmed via single crystal powder X-ray diffraction (SCPXRD), elemental analysis, FTIR, PXRD, and ICP studies. Compound 1 was prepared via molten salt synthesis, and compounds 2 and 3 were prepared via precursor synthesis, which is a synthetic method that uses a certain polyanionic cluster as a reagent. Compound 1 shows a novel three-dimensional (3D) structure, in which the [B6O11(OH)2] units acting as the basic polyanionic cluster form a two-dimensional (2D) anionic structure. In addition, the unexpected Cd3O14 clusters are connected with the 2D structures, leading to the 3D structure. The crystal structure of 2 is packed with very large neutral Ni0.8Mn0.2{B6O7(OH)3[O(CH2)2NH2]3} oxo-metal-boron clusters. The crystal structure of 3 consists of a [B5O6(OH)4]- cluster, a DMF molecule, and a [Ni(1-MI)6]2+ complex. In particular, 2 was successfully constructed using the same hexaborate cluster as its precursor. However, 3 only contains Ni2+ cations when a neutral NixMn1-x[B6O7(OH)6] cluster was used as an initial reagent, and it shows an ability to select a certain metal cation during the self-assembly process. Moreover, compounds 1, 2, and 3 exhibit different wide band gaps of 3.06 eV (1), 3.95 eV (2), and 4.24 eV (3).