CONSIDERATION OF BRIDGING GEOMETRIES IN RATIONAL SYNTHESIS OF OXOVANADIUM PHOSPHATES. Marcus R. Bond and Tom Otieno, Departments of Chemistry, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 and Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475

While the preparation of new oxovanadium phosphate structural frameworks still lies largely in the realm of serendipity, the significant accumulation of structural data for these systems provides a foundation for developing rational synthetic strategies. The diversity of bridge types found in oxovanadium phosphates undoubtedly leads to the complicated array of observed structural types. Within these systems both one-atom (mu-O) and three-atom (mu-O, mu-O') bridges are found in single, double, triple, or quadruple bridges between oxovanadium centers. Double three-atom bridges provide the most variety offering at least seven distinct bridge configurations each with a wide range of distorted conformers. Systematic analysis of known bridge types, their geometries, and structural environments provides insight into the factors that govern adoption of various bridging modes and goemetries in oxovanadium phosphate clusters and extended solids.