Transition hydrides

Covalent. Formed by most of the non-metals and transition metals. This class includes such diverse compounds as methane, CH4 and iron carbonyl hydride, H2Fe(CO)4. In many compounds the hydrogen atoms act as bridges. Where there are more than one hydride sites there is often hydrogen exchange between the sites. Hydrogens may be inside metal clusters. 

Transition metal hydrides. These are formed by hydrogen uptake by the metal. The phases are often non-stoicheiometric. 

Vidal V, Theolier A, Thivolle-Cazat and Basset J M 1997 Metathesis of alkanes catalyzed by silica-supported transition metal hydrides Soienoe 276 99-102... 

The interstitial carbides These are formed by the transition metals (e.g. titanium, iron) and have the general formula M, C. They are often non-stoichiometric—the carbon atoms can occupy some or all of the small spaces between the larger metal atoms, the arrangement of which remains essentially the same as in the pure metal (cf. the interstitial hydrides). 

The transition metal structures consist of close-packed (p. 26) arrays of relatively large atoms. Between these atoms, in the holes , small atoms, notably those of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, can be inserted, without very much distortion of the original metal structure. to give interstitial compounds (for example the hydrides, p. 113). 

Although a few simple hydrides were known before the twentieth century, the field of hydride chemistry did not become active until around the time of World War II. Commerce in hydrides began in 1937 when Metal Hydrides Inc. used calcium hydride [7789-78-8J, CaH2, to produce transition-metal powders. After World War II, lithium aluminum hydride [16853-85-3] LiAlH, and sodium borohydride [16940-66-2] NaBH, gained rapid acceptance in organic synthesis. Commercial appHcations of hydrides have continued to grow, such that hydrides have become important industrial chemicals manufactured and used on a large scale. 

Although the lUPAC has recommended the names tetrahydroborate, tetrahydroaluminate, etc, this nomenclature is not yet ia general use. Borohydrides. The alkaU metal borohydrides are the most important complex hydrides. They are ionic, white, crystalline, high melting soHds that are sensitive to moisture but not to oxygen. Group 13 (IIIA) and transition-metal borohydrides, on the other hand, are covalendy bonded and are either Hquids or sublimable soHds. The alkaline-earth borohydrides are iatermediate between these two extremes, and display some covalent character. 

R. Bau, "Transition Metal Hydrides," ddvances in Chemistry Series, Vol. 167, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1978. 

Isotope Effects on Superconductivity. Substitution of hydrogen by deuterium affects the superconducting transition temperature of palladium hydride [26929-60-2] PdH2 (54,55), palladium silver hydride, Pd Ag H D ( 6), and vanadium—2itconium—hydride, N(57). 

Metal oxides, sulfides, and hydrides form a transition between acid/base and metal catalysts. They catalyze hydrogenation/dehydro-genation as well as many of the reactions catalyzed by acids, such as cracking and isomerization. Their oxidation activity is related to the possibility of two valence states which allow oxygen to be released and reabsorbed alternately. Common examples are oxides of cobalt, iron, zinc, and chromium and hydrides of precious metals that can release hydrogen readily. Sulfide catalysts are more resistant than metals to the formation of coke deposits and to poisoning by sulfur compounds their main application is in hydrodesulfurization. 

Metals and alloys, the principal industrial metalhc catalysts, are found in periodic group TII, which are transition elements with almost-completed 3d, 4d, and 5d electronic orbits. According to theory, electrons from adsorbed molecules can fill the vacancies in the incomplete shells and thus make a chemical bond. What happens subsequently depends on the operating conditions. Platinum, palladium, and nickel form both hydrides and oxides they are effective in hydrogenation (vegetable oils) and oxidation (ammonia or sulfur dioxide). Alloys do not always have catalytic properties intermediate between those of the component metals, since the surface condition may be different from the bulk and catalysis is a function of the surface condition. Addition of some rhenium to Pt/AlgO permits the use of lower temperatures and slows the deactivation rate. The mechanism of catalysis by alloys is still controversial in many instances. 

A. Dedieu, (Ed.), Transition Metal Hydrides, J. Wiley Sons, New York, 1992. ISBN 0471187682... 

This process has many similarities to the Phillips process and is based on the use of a supported transition metal oxide in combination with a promoter. Reaction temperatures are of the order of 230-270°C and pressures are 40-80 atm. Molybdenum oxide is a catalyst that figures in the literature and promoters include sodium and calcium as either metals or as hydrides. The reaction is carried out in a hydrocarbon solvent. 

Although many overall rearrangements can be formulated as a series of 1,2-shifts, both isotopic tracer studies and con utational work have demonstrated foe involvement of other species. These are bridged ions in which hydride or alkyl groups are partially bound to two other carbons. Such structures can be transition states for hydride and alkyl-group shifts, but some evidence indicates that these structures can also be intermediates. 

By far the most common CN of hydrogen is 1, as in HCl, H2S, PH3, CH4 and most other covalent hydrides and organic compounds. Bridging modes in which the H atom has a higher CN are shown schematically in the next column — in these structures M is typically a transition metal but, particularly in the Mi-tnode and to some extent in the x3-mode, one or more of the M can represent a main-group element such as B, Al C, Si N etc. Typical examples are in Table 3.3. Fuller discussion and references, when appropriate, will be found in later chapters dealing with the individual elements concerned. 

Hydrogen combines with many elements to form binary hydrides MH (or M H ). All the main-group elements except the noble gases and perhaps indium and thallium form hydrides, as do all the lanthanoids and actinoids that have been studied. Hydrides are also formed by the more electropositive transition elements, notably Sc, Y, La, Ac Ti, Zr, Hf and to a lesser... 

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