Zirconium arene-phosphonates: Chemical and structural characterization of 2-naphthyl- and 2-anthracenylphosphonate systems

Several new zirconium phosphonates incorporating naphthalene and anthracene ring systems and having the general formula Zr(O₃PR) ₁(O₃PR′)₁ [R and R′ = -C ₁₀H₇, -C₁₄H₉, -OC₄H ₉, and -OC₂H₅] have been synthesized. These compounds were chemically characterized using thermal gravimetric analysis (percentage of organic content), infrared spectroscopy (presence of the desired organic functional groups), and solid-state ³¹P NMR (phosphorus environments), while the structural parameters were determined using X-ray powder diffraction (interlayer d spacings). The d spacings of the zirconium bis(phosphonates) correlate well with a simple predictive model based on the effective length of the organic functional group. The zirconium mixed phosphonates examined are single-phase structures with random mixtures of the organic moieties within the interlayer and possess d spacings that are between those of the two parent zirconium bis(phosphonates).