Investigation into the solid state chemistry of beryllosilicates, sulfimide complexes and nosean compounds

The similar chemical properties of sulfur, selenium and tellurium have been used to enable investigation of altering the size of occluded species, AOx (A = sulfur, selenium, tellurium and x = 0, 3 or 4), within sodalite based framework materials. Geomimetic synthesis of nosean Na8[AlSiO4]6AOx where A = sulfur, selenium, tellurium and x = 0, 3 or 4 has been investigated and a synthesis method for pure nosean selenate has been reported. Beryllosilicate and beryllogermanate sodalite compounds M8[BeSiO4]6A2 where M = Fe, Mn, Zn, Co, etc. and A = S, Se, Te have also been geomimetically synthesised and the magnetic effect of interchanging the original occluded sulfide for selenide resulted in a change in symmetry from P 3n to P222 at low temperature. Controlled mixed-metal beryllium compounds were targeted in order to investigate the effect of each M and combinations thereof. Unusual grinding effects have been observed for blue square planar Cu(Ph2SNH)2Cl2, whereby a reversible colour change to green occurs on grinding or application of a sheer force. Evidence points towards the possibility that a sheer effect, induced by way of grinding, causes a twisting of the ligands, inducing a reversible colour change, with properties tending towards those of the pseudo-tetrahedral allogon in the square planar polymorph. Anion metathesis has been found to occur within a system containing [Cu(Ph2SNH)4]Cl2, Ph2SNH.H2O and NaBF4. There is evidence indicating that, on grinding, an additional Ph2SNH ligand can be coordinated to the copper centre. This would be the first example of a purely solid state reaction in which the maximum coordination number for a ligand could be controlled by the counterion.