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Low‐Symmetry Uranyl Pyrophosphate Cage Clusters
Author(s) -
Ling Jie,
Qiu Jie,
Szymanowski Jennifer E. S.,
Burns Peter C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201003481
Subject(s) - uranyl , pyrophosphate , cluster (spacecraft) , chemistry , cage , crystallography , symmetry (geometry) , aqueous solution , inorganic chemistry , ion , computer science , organic chemistry , mathematics , enzyme , geometry , combinatorics , programming language
Is cluster symmetry so important? The combination of uranyl, peroxide, and pyrophosphate in aqueous solution results in the self‐assembly of highly complex clusters (see figure) containing 45 uranyl bipyramids and 23 pyrophosphate groups. These clusters are built from three basic structural units, and are highly unusual because they completely lack symmetry. They provide a window into the complex chemistry of evolving cluster topologies under the conditions of their formation.