Synthesis and characterization of the new tin borate SnB8O11(OH)4

Abstract A new tin(II) borate with the composition SnB 8 O 11 (OH) 4 was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process. It crystallizes in the centrosymmetric monoclinic space group P 2 1 / n (no. 14) with the lattice parameters a =790.1(1), b =1402.2(2), c =994.8(1) pm, and β =90.40(5)° ( Z =4). The new compound SnB 8 O 11 (OH) 4 is isotypic to PbB 8 O 11 (OH) 4 and isostructural to BaB 8 O 11 (OH) 4 . The borate layers are built up from fundamental building blocks (FBBs) with the composition [B 8 O 11 (OH) 4 ] 2− . Four of these FBBs form a nine-membered ring wherein the Sn 2+ cations are located. These boron-oxygen layers are further connected by O–H···O hydrogen bond interactions. The characterization of SnB 8 O 11 (OH) 4 is based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, vibrational spectroscopy, DFT calculations, and thermoanalytical investigations including high temperature powder XRD.