How the organic moiety drives the coordination chemistry of metal phosphonates: The first enantiomerically pure zinc phosphonate

The first enantiomerically pure metallophosphonate, (R)-Zn[O3PCH2P(O)(CH3)( C6H5)]. H2O has been prepared. The layered arrangement in this compound is drastically different from that observed in the racemic-series; this observ ation gives clear evidence of the critical role played by the organic moiet y that fully drives the coordination chemistry of phosphonic acids with tra nsition metals.