Low coordination number

The stereochemistry of Mg and the heavier alkaline earth metals is more flexible than that of Be and, in addition to occasional compounds which feature low coordination numbers (2, 3 and 4), there are many examples of 6, 8 and 12 coordination, some with 7, 9 or 10 coordination, and even some with coordination numbers as high as 22 or 24, as in SrCdn, BaCdn and (Ca, Sr or Ba)Zni3. " Strontium is 5-coordinate on the hemisolvate [Sr(OC6H2Bu3)2(thf)3]. jthf which features a distorted trigonal bipyramidal structure with the two aryloxides in equatorial positions. ... 

These anions are remarkable not only for the low coordination number but also for the low oxidation state of the metals in combination with oxygen which is more commonly to be found stabilizing high oxidation states. 

As with other transition elements, the lanthanides can be induced to form complexes with exceptionally low coordination numbers by use of the very bulky ligand, N(SiMe3)2 ... 

The chemistry of silicon in very low oxidation states is one of the most fascinating research areas, which can be located between molecular compounds of silicon and elemental (perhaps amorphous) silicon [190-194]. Most interesting results have recently been obtained by structural investigations of siliddes in Zintl phases. However, compounds of silicon with negative oxidation states and very low coordination numbers of 1, 2, and 3 are so far only known in the composite of a crystal lattice. 

However, it was about 8 years after the first synthesis of tetramesityldisilene before stable coordination compounds became known. The main reason for this is the kinetic stabilization of the known disilenes by bulky substituents, which effectively prevents the coordination of the double bond to a metal fragment. Thus, a direct coordination of stable disilenes appeared to be reasonable only if metals with very low coordination numbers were used. 

Phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth multiply bonded systems with low coordination number — their role as complex ligands. O. J. Scherer, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1984, 24, 924 (85). 

Abstract Many similarities between the chemistry of carbon and phosphorus in low coordination numbers (i.e.,CN=l or 2) have been established. In particular, the parallel between the molecular chemistry of the P=C bond in phosphaalkenes and the C=C bond in olefins has attracted considerable attention. An emerging area in this field involves expanding the analogy between P=C and C=C bonds to polymer science. This review provides a background to this new area by describing the relevant synthetic methods for P=C bond formation and known phosphorus-carbon analogies in molecular chemistry. Recent advances in the addition polymerization of phosphaalkenes and the synthesis and properties of Tx-con-jugated poly(p-phenylenephosphaalkene)s will be described. 

Because of the comparatively large space requirements of a lone pair, low coordination numbers favor the expression of a stereochemically active lone pair [25]. Specific ligand design can trigger the stereochemical activity of a lone pair in complex compounds. 

The hydrogen molecule does not chemisorb onto clean sintered gold surfaces at or above 78 K [147] but on unsintered films, a small amount of H2 is chemisorbed if gold surface atoms of low coordination number are present [148]. Stobinski [149] found that H2 can also chemisorb on thin sintered Au films if the surface is covered at low temperatures with a small amount of gold equivalent to 1-3 Au monolayers prior to H2 exposure. This suggests a fundamental role of surface Au atoms of low coordination number in the chemisorption process. Deuterium molecules also chemisorb in a similar fashion on gold films at 78 K and isotope effects were... 

The presence of shared edges and especially of shared faces in a structure decreases its stability this effect is large for cations with high charge and low coordination number. 

Like the three-coordinate aluminum and gallium alkoxides, the corresponding thiolates, selenolates, and tellurolates require very bulky substituents at the chalcogen atom to ensure a low metal coordination number. In addition, the steric requirements associated with the preservation of the low coordination number at the metal are increased by the longer M—S and M—Se bond lengths. The ten examples of low-coordinate,... 

Pyridine derivatives with additional donor functions and sterically demanding substituents have been used with the intention of producing complexes of Cd (and of other metals) with low coordination number one of these ligands is the tridentate, planar-bonding 2,6-bis[(2,6-dimethyl-phenylimino)methyl] pyridine (pydim a Schiff base derived from 2,6-pyridine dialdehyde), which with Cd(BF4)2 and thiocyanate gives a dinuclear complex [(pydim)Cd(/x-NCS-S,N)]2(BF4)2 with N-dominated coordination sphere.191 As centrosymmetric Plijc, Z= 2), the complex has an antiparallel /x-1,3 NCS double bridge with Cd—N and Cd—S bonds (224.6 pm and 255.5 pm, respectively) the Cd—N(py) bond is clearly shorter than the Cd—N(imino) bonds (225.6 pm and 245.0 pm,... 

Sterically bulky ligands have been used increasingly to enforce low coordination numbers (as low as two) in cr-bonded compounds. A review on the chemistry of compounds containing the tris(trimethylsilyl)methyl and related bulky groups is available.154... 

We can determine the amount of empty space in the simple cubic (a space-filling model is shown in Figure 7.15) structure by considering it to have an edge length l, which will be twice the radius of an atom. Therefore, the radius of the atom is 1/2, so the volume of one atom is (4/3)7r(l/2)3 = 0.52413, but the volume of the cube is P. From this we see that because the cube contains only one atom that occupies 52.4% of the volume of the cube, there is 47.6% empty space. Because of the low coordination number and the large amount of empty space, the simple cubic structure does not represent an efficient use of space and does not maximize the number of metal atoms bonded to each other. Consequently, the simple cubic structure is not a common one for metals. 

The interesting information is the correlation between first shell coordination numbers from EXAFS and H/M values from chemisorption, shown in Fig. 6.18. The correlation is as expected high dispersions correspond to low coordination numbers. Of course, what we really need is a relationship between particle size and H/M values. The right hand panel of Fig. 6.18 translates the experimentally determined H/M values of the catalysts into the diameter of particles with a half-spherical shape. Similar calibrations can be made for spherical particles or for particles of any other... 

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