High species, matrix isolation

The absence of overlapping of bands of various matrix-isolated compounds and the possibility of freezing highly reactive intermediates make this method very convenient for the direct study of reaction mechanisms. Additionally, direct IR spectroscopy of intermediates allows estimation of important structural parameters, e.g. valence force fields, which show the character of bonds in these species. 

Schel, S. A. etal., J. Mol. Struct., 1986, 147(3 -4), 203 -215 Although it is highly explosive, like other polyunsaturated azides, it was possible to record spectral data under the following conditions gaseous electron diffraction IR spectra of matrix-isolated species in argon at 15°K of amorphous and crystalline solids at 90°K and Raman spectra of the liquid at 240°K. 

Summary Two strategies can be used to study highly reactive species. One is kinetic stabilization by bulky groups. The other is the direct observation of the parent species under extreme conditions (matrix isolation techniques). The latter method has the advantage that the observed spectra can be correlated with the results of quantum chemical calculations. 

Unstable conformers of trans- and cis-hexatriene have been detected by means of the combination of matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and photoexcitation (or the high-temperature nozzle technique)84. Ab initio MO calculations at the HF/6-31G level have been performed for several conformers of 1,3,5-hexatriene93. The observed infrared bands of unstable conformers have been attributed to the gTt (major species) and gTg (minor species) conformers of /raw.s -hexalricne and the gCt conformer of cw-hexatriene93. It is noted that, in the previous paper93, the notation c is used for twisted structures for the sake of simplicity. The calculated torsional angles around C—C bonds for the gTt, gTg and gCt conformers are in the range between 32° and 45°. The observed and calculated vibrational frequencies of gTt and gCt are reported in Reference 93. 

Matrix isolation is a powerful tool for studying highly reactive species. The matrix provides an inert environment, which increases the lifetime of the reactive species to the extent that it may be thought of as a stable species. This allows for its spectroscopical identification and/or characterization using normal-type spectrometers. It is also possible to learn something about the intrinsic reactivity of the species, because, under such conditions, intermolecular reactions can be excluded. 

Conventional EPR techniques have been successfully used to measure the D and E values of matrix-isolated carbenes in the ground triplet state because the steady-state concentration of triplet species is sufficiently high in the system. The technique cannot be used, however, for excited species having triplet hfetimes of the order of 10-100 ns, since their steady-state concentration is too low. The D parameters are estimated from the external magnetic field effect on the T—T fluorescence decay in a hydrocarbon matrix at low temperamre. The method is based on the effect of the Zeeman mixing on the radiative and nonradiative decay rates of the T -Tq transition in the presence of a weak field. The D values are estimated by fitting the decay curve with that calculated for different D values. The D T ) values estimated for nonplanar DPC (ci symmetry) is 0.20... 

Interest in the preparation of high-spin organic compounds has led to the matrix isolation of polynitrenes, such as 57-61. " These species have been studied primarily by EPR spectroscopy, but increasing use is being made of matrix IR and UV-vis spectroscopy. Density functional theoretical calculations have been used to assign the vibrational spectra that have been observed. Polynitrenes are under active smdy by material scientists interested in the development of organic magnets. 

Of course, matrix isolation studies are not limited to the classes of reactive intermediates discussed in the above five sections. There are many other types of highly reactive species that can be stabilized (and were often observed for the first time) in cryogenic matrices. Only a comprehensive review could do justice to all those efforts, but this effort is beyond the scope of this chapter. So, we will limit ourselves to a few typical cases. 

IR spectroscopy is not confined to stable substances. In recent years, matrix isolation IR spectroscopy has become important in the investigation of short-lived, unstable molecular species. A gas containing such highly-reactive molecules - produced by photolysis of a reaction mixture, or in a high-temperature furnace - is suddenly cooled by contact with an inert solid (e.g. argon at c. 40 K). The matrix-isolated molecules are protected by the low temperature from unimolecular decomposition, and - by sheer isolation, if the dilution is sufficient - from bimolecular processes such as dimerisation or disproportionation. For example, the photolysis of Mn(CO)5H by a laser produces the otherwise unstable Mn(CO)5 and Mn(CO)4H molecules whose IR spectra can be measured in an argon matrix. Because of the low temperature, the lack of inter-molecular interactions and the rigidity with which the molecules are trapped in the matrix, such spectra are often very well resolved, better than can be achieved by conventional methods. Thus matrix isolation spectroscopy is widely used in the study of stable species, in preference to conventional techniques. 

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