Methanolysis as a Route to Gallium(III) Clusters:  Synthesis and Structural Characterization of a Decanuclear Molecular Wheel

Treatment of a methanolic solution of gallium(III) nitrate with lithium hydroxide in the presence of benzilic acid resulted in the decanuclear cluster [Ga(OMe)₂{O₂CC(OH)Ph₂}]₁₀ (1). The metal and the organic components have assembled to form a cyclic molecule that adopts the structure of a wheel. The 10 Ga^III ions are approximately coplanar and are coordinated in a distorted octahedral manner by six oxygen atoms. The integrity of the molecular wheel is retained in solution, as evidenced by the ¹NMR spectrum of 1 in DMSO-d₆, while no signal in the ⁷¹Ga NMR could be detected.