were obtained commercially from sources and were used without
additional purification. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was performed
on silica (Silica Gel 60 F254) precoated aluminum plates, and the
products were visualized by a UV lamp (PHILIPS TUV 8W lamp) and I2 stain. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns were recorded
on a (Shimadzu XRD-6100 using Cu Kα radiations = 1.5405
Å) powder diffractometer instrument. Transmission electron microscopy
studies were performed using a Philips CM200 transmission electron
microscope at 100 kV. ICP-atomic emission spectroscopy was performed
using the ARCOS model instrument from M/s Spectro, Germany. The 1H and 13C NMR were recorded in CDCl3 using the residual solvent peak as a reference on an Avance III
and Bruker NMR spectrophotometer at 400 and 101 MHz, respectively.
In most cases, column chromatography was not required. Passing the
crude product through a short pad of silica gel afforded the analytically
pure product.