Six-coordinate aluminium phosphinate

Unique models of solid state aluminophosphate materials containing, for the first time, six-coordinate aluminium atoms, may be achieved in chelated phosphinate derivatives; the degree of aggregation of these species, specifically the remarkable transition from a dimeric molecule to a polymeric material, depends on just one methylene unit; thus, [(Bu(t)₄salpen)Al{O₂P(H)Ph}]₂ 1 is dimeric while [(Bu(t)₄salen)Al{O₂P(H)Ph}](∞) 2, with one fewer methylene unit in the connection between the two nitrogens, is a polymeric material with the polymers aligned to form pores containing thf molecules.