High-nuclearity transition-metal complexes

For those familiar with NMR spectroscopy it may be helpful to realize that the ESR g-shift is comparable with the NMR chemical shift. Similarly, electron-nuclear hyperfine coupling can be compared with nuclear-nuclear spin-spin coupling in NMR. (In systems containing more than one unpaired electron per molecule, electron spin-electron spin coupling is, of course, important. For doublet-state radicals, this coupling does not arise it is of great importance in triplet state molecules and in many high-spin transition metal complexes.)... 

Molecular modelling of transition metal complexes (TMC), reproducing characteristic features of their stereochemistry and electronic structure, is in high demand in relation with studies and development of various processes of complex formation with an accent on ion extraction, ion exchange, isotope separation, neutralization of nuclear waste, and also when studying structure and reactivity of metal-containing enzymes. Solving these techno-... 

Hence, there are strong grounds to state that compounds with the tetra-nuclear cluster magnesium core formed in Mg-RH films have catalytic properties similar to those of transition metal complexes. The catalytic activity of organomagnesium clusters can be very high. 

Another possible two-electron mechanism involves the direct transport of two electrons from a mononuclear transition metal complex to a substrate (S). Such a transport alters sharply the electrostatic states of the systems and obviously requires a substantial rearrangement of the nuclear configuration of ligands and polar solvent molecules. For instance, the estimation of the synchronization factor (asyn) for an octahedral complex, with Eq. 2.44 shows a very low value of asyn = 10 7to 10 8 and, therefore, a very low rate of reaction. The probability of two-electron processes, however, increases sharply if they take place in the coordination sphere of a transition metal, where the reverse compensating electronic shift from the substrate to metal occurs. Involvement of bi- and, especially, polynuclear transition metal complexes and clusters and synchronous proton transfer in the redox processes may essentially decrease the environment reorganization, and, therefore, provide a high rate for the two- electron reactions. 

Molecular symmetry and ways of specifying it with mathematical precision are important for several reasons. The most basic reason is that all molecular wave functions—those governing electron distribution as well as those for vibrations, nmr spectra, etc.—must conform, rigorously, to certain requirements based on the symmetry of the equilibrium nuclear framework of the molecule. When the symmetry is high these restrictions can be very severe. Thus, from a knowledge of symmetry alone it is often possible to reach useful qualitative conclusions about molecular electronic structure and to draw inferences from spectra as to molecular structures. The qualitative application of symmetry restrictions is most impressively illustrated by the crystal-field and ligand-field theories of the electronic structures of transition-metal complexes, as described in Chapter 20, and by numerous examples of the use of infrared and Raman spectra to deduce molecular symmetry. Illustrations of the latter occur throughout the book, but particularly with respect to some metal carbonyl compounds in Chapter 22. 

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy [1-3] is the most selective, best resolved, and a highly sensitive spectroscopy for the characterization of species that contain unpaired electrons. After the first experiments by Zavoisky in 1944 [4] mainly continuous-wave (CW) techniques in the X-band frequency range (9-10 GHz) were developed and applied to organic free radicals, transition metal complexes, and rare earth ions. Many of these applications were related to reaction mechanisms and catalysis, as species with unpaired electrons are inherently unstable and thus reactive. This period culminated in the 1970s, when CW EPR had become a routine technique in these fields. The best resolution for the hyperfine couplings between the unaired electron and nuclei in the vicinity was obtained with CW electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) techniques [5]. 

High Nuclearity Metal Carbonyl Clusters, 14, 285 Infrared Intensities of Metal Carbonyl Stretching Vibrations, 10, 199 Infrared and Raman Studies of -Complexes, 1, 239 Insertion Reactions of Compounds of Metals and Metalloids, 5, 225 Insertion Reactions of Transition Metal-Carbon Bonded Compounds I. Carbon Monoxide Insertion, 11, 87... 

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