Stoichiometric cluster compounds

Tmly stoichiometric cluster compounds. These have between several tens to a thousand atoms, hence sizes in the range of one to a few nanometers. 

Metal carbonyl cluster compounds which contain three ruthenium or three osmium atoms in the cluster core are common.1 Potentially useful reagents for syntheses of these compounds are the triruthenium and triosmium dianions [M3(CO)h]2 (M = Ru, Os).2 Therefore, it is desirable to develop good synthetic routes to obtain [M3(CO)11]2- (M = Ru, Os) of high purity in high yields. A method that is particularly useful for generating [M3(CO)n]2 (M = Ru, Os) is the designed stoichiometric reduction of M3(CO)12 (M = Ru, Os) using an electron carrier such as potassium-benzophenone.3... 

The search for new reactivity and new reactions is an important target in homogeneous catalysis. A declared goal is the selective activation of C-H bonds under mild conditions. Although there are numerous examples of stoichiometric C-H bond oxidative additions to transition metal centers, successful examples regarding catalytic functionalization of C-H bonds have been made only during the last five years. Notable advances have been achieved by Moore and coworkers who described in 1992 the ortAo-acylation of pyridine with olefins and carbon monoxide. The cluster compound triruthenium dodecacarbonyl has been used as catalyst (Scheme 10). 

All the examples in Thble 5-7 have fewer d electrons than expected for the closed configuration. The electron counts are safe for the large cluster compounds having alkali metal cations provided there is no homogeneity range around the stoichiometric phases. In each case, four electrons are missing for the dosed configuration. 

The carbaalanes [8, 9] possess clusters formed by aluminum and carbon atoms. They represent a new class of compounds which, in some respects, may be compared to the important class of carbaboranes. Usually, they were obtained by the reaction of aluminum alkynides with aluminum hydrides (hydroalumination) and the release of trialkylaluminum derivatives (condensation). The first carbaalane, (AlMe)g(CCH2Ph)5H 3 [10], was synthesized by the treatment of dimethylalumi-num phenylethynide with neat dimethylaluminum hydride. The idealized stoichiometric ratio of the components is given in Eq. (2), which also shows a schematic drawing of the molecular structure. Compound 3 was isolated in the form of colorless crystals in 60% yield. While 3 is only slightly air-sensitive, the less sterically shielded propynide derivative 4, also shown in Eq. (2), is highly pyrophoric [11],... 

In the random-walk model, the individual ions are assumed to move independently of one another. However, long-range electrostatic interactions between the mobile ions make such an assumption unrealistic unless n is quite small. Although corrections to account for correlated motions of the mobile ions at higher values of n may be expected to alter only the factor y of the pre-exponential factor Aj., there are at least two situations where correlated ionic motions must be considered explicitly. The first occurs in stoichiometric compounds having an = 1. but a low AH for a cluster rotation the second occurs for the situation illustrated in Fig. 3.6(c). 

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