An organic–inorganic hybrid hexa-nickel substituted sandwich-type germanotungstate [enH2]2[Ni(en)2]2{[Ni6(en)2(H2O)2][B-α-GeW9O34]2} 14H2O

A novel organic–inorganic hybrid hexa-NiII sandwiched germanotungstate [enH2]2[Ni(en)2]2{[Ni6(en)2(H2O)2] [B-α-GeW9O34]2}·14H2O (1) has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. 1 consists of a hexa-nickel sandwiched polyoxoanion {[Ni6(en)2(H2O)2][B-α-GeW9O34]2}8 −, two discrete [Ni(en)2]2 + cations, two free diprotonated [enH2]2 + cations and fourteen lattice water molecules. Notably, the sandwich-type polyoxoanion {[Ni6(en)2(H2O)2][B-α-GeW9O34]2}8 − is constructed from two trivacant [B-α-GeW9O34]10 − Keggin moieties in a staggered fashion linked via a belt hexa-nickel cluster [Ni6(en)2(H2O)2]12 +. To our knowledge, 1 represents the first hexa-NiII substituted sandwich-type germanotungstate. 1 shows the occurrence of ferromagnetic interactions within nickel centers. The photocatalytic property of 1 has been investigated.