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Polyoxometalates and Other Metal-Oxo Clusters in Nature

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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Metal-oxo clusters are broadly defined as polynuclear species (meaning containing two or more metal cations) with ligands of H2O, OH−, and O2− and are molecular. Molecular means they have a distinct chemical formula. In the laboratory, they are ideally synthesized in water in a discrete form (meaning all clusters present in the aqueous synthesis solution have the exact same formula and geometry). Solubility of these clusters in water necessitates a negative or positive charge; and the metal-oxo clusters are isolated by crystallization with counterions of the opposite charge. Polyoxometalates, commonly known as POMs, are one subset of metal-oxo clusters. These are discrete polynuclear metal-oxo clusters specifically composed of the early d0 transition metals in their highest oxidation state with no valence electrons. These POM-forming metal cations include V5+, Nb5+, Ta5+, Mo6+, and W6+. POMs are negatively charged and possess predominantly O2−ligands. All metal-oxo...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    May Nyman

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  1. May Nyman
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Correspondence to May Nyman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Nyman, M. (2016). Polyoxometalates and Other Metal-Oxo Clusters in Nature. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_43-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_43-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

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