Synthesis and characterization of an organic–inorganic hybrid crystal: 2[Co(en)3](V4O13)·4H2O

Organic–inorganic hybrid crystals have diverse functionalities, for example in energy storage and luminescence, due to their versatile structures. The synthesis and structural characterization of a new cobalt–vanadium‐containing compound, 2[Co(en)3]3+(V4O13)6−·4H2O (1) is presented. The crystal structure of 1, consisting of [Co(en)3]3+ complexes and chains of corner‐sharing (VO4) tetrahedra, was solved by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction in the centrosymmetric space group P1. Phase purity of the bulk material was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis and powder X‐ray diffraction. The volume expansion of 1 was found to be close to 1% in the reported temperature range from 100 to 300 K, with a volume thermal expansion coefficient of 56 (2) × 10−6 K−1. The electronic band gap of 1 is 2.30 (1) eV, and magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that the compound exhibits a weak paramagnetic response down to 1.8 K, probably due to minor CoII impurities (