Three Scandium Compounds with Unsaturated Coordinative Metal Sites – Structures and Catalysis

Abstract Two scandium coordination polymers, a 2D supermolecule structure {[Sc(OH)(L 1 ) 2 (H 2 O)]} n ( 1 ) (HL 1 = isonicotinic acid), a 1D infinite chain structure {[Sc 3 (L 2 ) 4 (H 2 O) 4 ] · NO 3 · H 2 O} n ( 2 ) (H 2 L 2 = 4,5‐imidazole dicarboxylic acid), as well as a scandium complex {[Sc 2 (OH) 2 (L 3 ) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ]} n ( 3 ) (H 2 L 3 = 1,2,3‐triazole‐4,5‐dicarboxylic acid), were synthesized and characterized by X‐ray crystallography. Compounds 1 – 3 are active heterogeneous catalysts for high‐yield cyanosilylation of aromatic aldehydes in acetonitrile, particularly for p ‐nitrobenzaldehyde. Moreover, these three catalysts can be reused three times without significant loss in activity or mass.