Coordination number, influence

It is instructive to note the progressive trend to higher coordination numbers in the Group 16 dioxides, and the consequent influence on structure ... 

The radius ratio for B+3 is only a little less than the lower limit for tetra-hedra. The usual coordination number for boron with oxygen is 3 (in the borate ion, [B03]-3). It is four, however, in the 12-tungstoborate ion,16 in which a stabilizing influence is exerted by the tungsten octahedra. 

The way by which all the factors involved influence the course of a reaction varies from case to case, and prediction is largely empirical. For catalytic processes, the actual species acting as catalyst is often unknown because coordination number, type of ligands, stereochemistry of the complex, and formal charge are difficult to establish in the reaction medium. Often many species are present, and the most active may be the one having the lowest coordination number and being present in a concentration so low that it cannot be detected spectroscopically. Only kinetic studies can provide evidence for such species. 

The EXAFS data recorded after exposure to air of the unsupported Co-Mo catalysts with different cobalt content allow one to examine the effect of cobalt. In spite of a great uncertainty in the coordination numbers, the promoted catalysts seem to have a somewhat smaller domain size than the unpromoted catalyst as indicated both by the smaller second shell coordination numbers and by the larger effect of air exposure (i.e., reduced sulfur coordination number in first shell). This influence of cobalt on the domain size may be related to the possibility that cobalt atoms located at edges of M0S2 stabilize the domains towards growth in the basal plane direction. Recent results on C0-M0/AI2O3 catalysts indicate that Co may also have a similar stabilizing effect in supported catalysts (36). 

Classical shielding arguments indicate an electron-rich phosphorus atom, or equally, an increase in coordination number. The silicon atom seems also to be electron-rich, while the carbon has a chemical shift in the range expected for a multiply bonded species. The coupling constant data are difficult to rationalize, as it is not possible to predict the influence of orbital, spin-dipolar, Fermi contact, or higher-order quantum mechanical contributions to the magnitude of the coupling constants. However, classical interpretation of the NMR data indicates that the (phosphino)(silyl)carbenes have a P-C multiple bond character. 

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