Coordination chemistry and magnetic properties of polynuclear metal clusters/cluster-based frameworks with tripodal alcohol ligands

Metal clusters with atomically accurate structures and nanoscale sizes featuring size-dependent chemical/physical properties have attracted a wide range of research interest of chemists. The tripodal alcohol ligands with three flexible alcohol hydroxyl arms can chelately coordinate with 3d, 4d and 4f metal ions to construct metal clusters. In this review, we discussed the synthetic strategies of metal clusters or cluster-based frameworks based on such tripodal alcohol ligands. In particular, we summarized the fascinating structural categories and interesting magnetic phenomena, such as single-molecular magnetic behaviors, large ground state spin values, etc. We further discuss coordination patterns of selective tripodal alcohol ligands. The tripodal alcohol ligands remain a major class of ligand candidates for the assembly of novel metal clusters, for example, Ti clusters, Zr clusters, Al clusters. This review will provide valuable guidance for researchers pursuing the metal clusters-based frameworks, and eventually facilitate new studies of polynuclear metal clusters/cluster-based frameworks constructed by tripodal alcohol ligands with desirable properties.