Molecular electronics metal-alkyne complexes

In the fields of organometallic polymer see Polymer) chemistry , in which complexes may have particularly interesting physical properties (liquid crystallinity, optical nonlinearity see Nonlinear Optical Materials), etc.), or of molecular electronics , metal alkynyl complexes play a significant role. These areas have been the subject of recent reviews, thus only a brief overview of methods to prepare iron alkynes will be given here. Liu has also recently reviewed the cyclization chemistry of alkynyl organometaUics, including those of iron. ... 

The extent of alkyne ir donation in Mo(RC=CR)(SBu )2(CNBu% (SO) is not easily quantified as discussed in the structural and molecular orbital sections. Proton shifts for HC=CH and PhC=CH ligands in these complexes are near 10.4 ppm, above the N = 4 median value and approaching an N = 3 chemical shift. The 13C chemical shifts range from 170 to 185 ppm, also above classic four-electron donor alkyne values, presumably reflecting competition with the two adjacent equatorial thiolates for donation to the two vacant metal dir acceptor orbitals. Single bond VCH values of 215 and 211 Hz are typical of terminal alkynes bound to molybdenum(II) (133). 

A theory which shows greater applicability to bonding in cluster compounds is the Polyhedral Skeletal Electron Pair Theory (PSEPT) which allows the probable structure to be deduced from the total number of skeletal bond pairs (400). Molecular orbital calculations show that a closed polyhedron with n vertex atoms is held together by a total of (n + 1) skeletal bond pairs. A nido polyhedron, with one vertex vacant, is held together by (n + 2) skeletal bond pairs, and an arachno polyhedron, with two vacant vertices, by (n + 3) skeletal bond pairs. Further, more open structures are obtainable by adding additional pairs of electrons. This discussion of these polyhedral shapes is normally confined to metal atoms, but it is possible to consider an alkyne, RC=CR, either as an external ligand or as a source of two skeletal CR units. So that, for example, the cluster skeleton in the complex Co4(CO)10(RCCR), shown in Fig. 16, may be considered as a nido trigonal bipyramid (a butterfly cluster) with a coordinated alkyne or as a closo octahedron with two carbon atoms in the core. 

Veillard [19] covers a similar range of molecules but from the Hartree-Fock and post-HF view. The discussion is organised more in terms of molecular properties. Thus, he deals with metal carbonyls, carbides, cyanides, C02 complexes, alkyls, carbenes, carbynes, alkenes, alkynes and metallocenes under the headings of electronic states, electronic spectra, optimised geometries, binding energies, Ionisation Potentials and Electron Affinities, nature of M-L bonding and other properties (e.g. vibrational spectra, dipole moments and electron distributions). 

---