Metal cyamelurates: structural diversity caused by kinetic and thermodynamic controls

The kinetic control of chemical reactions makes it possible both to isolate metastable substances with properties different from those of thermodynamically stable phases and to obtain information useful for studying the crystal nucleation and further transformations of metastable phases into stable ones. Metal cyamelurates are suitable subjects for kinetic control in synthesis due to their easy crystallization and short reaction times. In this work, cobalt, manganese, magnesium, copper, aluminum, chromium, calcium, and lead cyamelurates were obtained and their crystal structures were determined. Most syntheses at room temperature take place under kinetic control, and this often leads to a mixture of phases. KM(C6N7O3)·5H2O (M = Co(II), Mn(II)) powders consisted of one crystalline compound. An increase in temperature leads to thermodynamic control, which is proved by registration of Mn(C6N7O3H)·5H2O and KMg(C6N7O3)·5H2O crystalline phases. It was possible to isolate Ca(C6N7O3H)·6H2O and Pb(C6N7O3H)·3H2O from the mixture by washing samples with a weak acid solution. As a result of the work, five different structural types were obtained, including KCu(C6N7O3)∙2H2O and KM(C6N7O3H)2·6H2O (M = Al, Cr(III)). Despite the diversity of salts obtained as a result of thermodynamic or kinetic control, practically the same building blocks form the crystal structure of cyamelurates. The hypothesis of nucleation in a colloidal micelle with electric double layer can be applied to the compounds listed above.