Compounds of molybdenum(VI) with aspartic acid: A spectrophotometric and potentiometric study of the formation and interconversion equilibria in aqueous solution

Addition of Na2MoO4 to an excess of aspartic acid (AspH2) can produce any of four different complexes depending on the pH, namely [MoO3(Asp)]2−, [Mo2O5(Asp)2]2−, [Mo2O4(OH)(Asp)2]− and [Mo2O4(Asp)2]. The ranges of formation of these species with pH, the number of equivalents of acid necessary for their formation, and their stoichiometries, condensation degrees and stability constants, have been calculated by potentiometric and spectrophotometric techniques. The aspartic acid acts as a tridentate ligand in all cases.