Neutral Complexes and Clusters

As a general trend, uncharged carbonyl complexes and clusters are obtained on the surface of rather neutral supports such as silica [4—6] whereas the synthesis of... 

Fig. 12. Minima and transition states on the reaction path of hydrogen exchange for methanol on a zeolite cluster. The upper and lower diagrams shown the equivalent neutral complexes, and the middle figure illustrates the transition state. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 221. Copyright 1995 American Chemical Society.

The essential difference between proton transfer from a neutral complex and protonated state becomes clear in comparing the activation of isobutene by the neutral (H2S04)2 cluster shown in Fig. 5.13a and H3SO4 + shown in Fig. 5.13b[ l. There is a high activation barrier for proton transfer in the neutral stem (100 kJ/mol for the H2SO4 monomer as shown in Fig. 5.13a) as compared with the low activation barrier (14 kJ/mol as shown in Fig. 5.13b) and high exothermicity for protonation in the charged stem. 

In recent years, several model complexes have been synthesized and studied to understand the properties of these complexes, for example, the influence of S- or N-ligands or NO-releasing abilities [119]. It is not always easy to determine the electronic character of the NO-ligands in nitrosyliron complexes thus, forms of NO [120], neutral NO, or NO [121] have been postulated depending on each complex. Similarly, it is difficult to determine the oxidation state of Fe therefore, these complexes are categorized in the Enemark-Feltham notation [122], where the number of rf-electrons of Fe is indicated. In studies on the nitrosylation pathway of thiolate complexes, Liaw et al. could show that the nitrosylation of complexes [Fe(SR)4] (R = Ph, Et) led to the formation of air- and light-sensitive mono-nitrosyl complexes [Fe(NO)(SR)3] in which tetrathiolate iron(+3) complexes were reduced to Fe(+2) under formation of (SR)2. Further nitrosylation by NO yields the dinitrosyl complexes [(SR)2Fe(NO)2], while nitrosylation by NO forms the neutral complex [Fe(NO)2(SR)2] and subsequently Roussin s red ester [Fe2(p-SR)2(NO)4] under reductive elimination forming (SR)2. Thus, nitrosylation of biomimetic oxidized- and reduced-form rubredoxin was mimicked [121]. Lip-pard et al. showed that dinuclear Fe-clusters are susceptible to disassembly in the presence of NO [123]. 

A much more detailed and time-dependent study of complex hydrocarbon and carbon cluster formation has been prepared by Bettens and Herbst,83 84 who considered the detailed growth of unsaturated hydrocarbons and clusters via ion-molecule and neutral-neutral processes under the conditions of both dense and diffuse interstellar clouds. In order to include molecules up to 64 carbon atoms in size, these authors increased the size of their gas-phase model to include approximately 10,000reactions. The products of many of the unstudied reactions have been estimated via simplified statistical (RRKM) calculations coupled with ab initio and semiempirical energy calculations. The simplified RRKM approach posits a transition state between complex and products even when no obvious potential barrier... 

DF calculations were carried out on CO complexes of small neutral, cationic, and anionic gold clusters Au with n= 1-6. The -coordination mode (terminal C-coordination) was found to be the most favorable one irrespective of the charge of the cluster, and cluster planarity is more stable for the bare clusters and their carbonyls. As expected, adsorption energies are greatest for the cationic clusters, and decrease with size. Instead, the adsorption energies of... 

The triruthenium derivatives 31-35 show characteristic intracluster charge transfer (IC) absorptions in the visible to near-infrared region (600-1000 nm) and cluster-to-ligand charge transfer (CLCT) transitions at 320-450 nm. Compared with the low energy bands in [Ru3n m m]+ complexes 31-35, those in the one-electron reduced neutral [Ru3 ]° species are remarkably red-shifted. The decrease in energy for these transitions by one-electron reduction reflects a rise of the occupied d% levels as the number of electrons increases. Complexes 31-35 exhibit... 

Supramolecular aggregations are commonly referred to by a variety of terms, including adduct, complex, and van der Waals molecule. In this chapter we shall primarily employ the more neutral term cluster, which may, if desired, be qualified with the type of intermolecular interaction leading to clustering (e.g., H-bonded cluster ). General and specific types of intermolecular forces are discussed in the following sections. 

This volume seeks in a small way to bridge the wide gap between organic chemistry in the gas and condensed phases. The same types of chiral ion-dipole complexes that form as intermediates of solvolysis may be generated in the gas phase by allowing neutral molecules to cluster with chiral cations. The reactions of these chiral clusters have been characterized in exquisite detail by mass spectrometry. The results of this work are summarized by Maurizio Speranza in a chapter that is notable for its breadth and thoroughness of coverage. This presentation leaves the distinct impression that further breakthroughs on the problems discussed await us in the near future. 

This is one of two articles in this volume concerned with the borane-carborane structural pattern. In the other (see Williams, this volume, p. 67) Williams has shown how the pattern reflects the coordination number preferences of the various atoms involved. The purpose of the present article is to note some bonding implications of the pattern, and to show its relevance to a wide range of other compounds, including metal clusters, metal-hydrocarbon n complexes, and various neutral or charged hydrocarbons. 

The question of methanol protonation was revisited by Shah et al. (237, 238), who used first-principles calculations to study the adsorption of methanol in chabazite and sodalite. The computational demands of this technique are such that only the most symmetrical zeolite lattices are accessible at present, but this limitation is sure to change in the future. Pseudopotentials were used to model the core electrons, verified by reproduction of the lattice parameter of a-quartz and the gas-phase geometry of methanol. In chabazite, methanol was found to be adsorbed in the 8-ring channel of the structure. The optimized structure corresponds to the ion-paired complex, previously designated as a saddle point on the basis of cluster calculations. No stable minimum was found corresponding to the neutral complex. Shah et al. (237) concluded that any barrier to protonation is more than compensated for by the electrostatic potential within the 8-ring. 

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