Methanolysis as a Route to Gallium(III) Clusters: Synthesis and Structural Characterization of a Decanuclear Molecular Wheel

Treatment of a methanolic solution of gallium(III) nitrate with lithium
hydroxide in the presence of benzilic acid resulted in the
decanuclear cluster [Ga(OMe)2{O2CC(OH)Ph2}]10 (1). The metal
and the organic components have assembled to form a cyclic
molecule that adopts the structure of a wheel. The 10 GaIII ions
are approximately coplanar and are coordinated in a distorted
octahedral manner by six oxygen atoms. The integrity of the
molecular wheel is retained in solution, as evidenced by the
1NMR spectrum of 1 in DMSO-d6, while no signal in the 71Ga NMR
could be detected.