Recent work in the preparation of organically templated metal sulfates under hydrothermal conditions has been extended to include the sulfation of alpha-molybdena through the synthesis of [C(5)H(14)N(2)][(MoO(3))(3)(SO(4))].H(2)O. Single crystals were grown under hydrothermal conditions from molybdenum oxide, water, sulfuric acid, and an enantiomerically pure (R)-2-methylpiperazine source and characterized using both single-crystal X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. One-dimensional [(MoO(3))(3)(SO(4))](n)(2n-) chains, based on a neutral alpha-molybdena backbone, are connected through an extensive hydrogen-bonding network containing [C(5)H(14)N(2)](2+) cations and occluded water molecules. The direction of the hydrogen bonding is primarily dictated by the nucleophilicity of the respective oxide ligands, as determined using bond valence sums.

Single crystals of a new beta-octamolybdate salt containing protonated 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane cations were prepared under mild hydrothermal conditions. This compound, [C6H13N2]2[C6H14N2][Mo8O26], was then used as a starting material in the synthesis of [C6H13N2]6[Mo16O53F2].4H2O, which contains previously unreported [Mo16O53F2]12- anions. The structure-directing properties of gamma-[Mo8O26]4-, a likely intermediate in this pH-dependent transformation, are responsible for the site selection of the fluoride incorporation. [Mo16O53F2]12-, the largest reported polyoxofluoromolybdate cluster, expands upon the limited number of such anions in the literature. The structures of both compounds were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction.