An acid-stable Zn(ii) complex: electrodeposition in sulfuric acid and the effect on the zinc–lead dioxide battery

Abstract

An acid-stable Zn(II) complex formulated as Zn₂(HL)₂(SO₄)·H₂O (1) and an acid-unstable complex formulated as Zn₂L₂·12H₂O (2) were hydro(solvo)thermally synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Complex 1 features a uninodal 6-connected 2-fold interpenetrating three-dimensional (3D) dense architecture with {4¹²·6³}-pcu topology, and complex 2 exhibits a 2-nodal (3, 6)-connected 3D open architecture with (4·6²)₂(4²·6¹⁰·8³)-rtl topology. The results indicate that the stability of complex 1 in sulfuric acid is probably associated with the coordinated SO₄²⁻ in the quite dense structure, and complex 1 can also be synthesized via electrodeposition in sulfuric acid; it can improve the discharging characteristics of the zinc–lead dioxide battery at room temperature.