Transition-metal hydrides from hydrogen

The important application for the ternary transition metal hydrides (reversible hydrogen storage), their relative insensitivity toward air, and the huge combinatorial potential of intermetallic compounds make them the by far most investigated subclass within the metal hydrides. From the vast number of AgM -H systems, only some prominent representatives can be discussed in detail. Table III gives an overview of some hydride phases of important subclasses of AgM intermetalUc compounds. 

In 1931, Hieber and Leutert reported Fe(CO)4(H)2 not only as the first iron hydride complex but also as the first transition-metal hydride complex (FeH2 was reported in 1929 from FeCl2 and PhMgBr under a hydrogen atmosphere. However, it exists only in a gas phase) [2, 3]. The complex synthesized from Fe(CO)5 and OH (Scheme 1) is isolable only at low temperature and decomposes at room temperature into Fe(CO)5, Fe(CO)3, and H2. 

Usui, Y, Hrrano, M., Fukuoka, A. and Komiya, S. (1997) Hydrogen abstraction from transition metal hydrides by gold alkoxides giving gold-containing heterodinuclear complexes. Chemistry Letters, 26, 981. 

As a result of the recognized role of transition metal hydrides as l reactive intermediates or catalysts in a broad spectrum of chemical reactions such as hydroformylation, olefin isomerization, and hydrogenation, transition metal hydride chemistry has developed rapidly in the past decade (J). Despite the increased interest in this area, detailed structural information about the nature of hydrogen bonding to transition metals has been rather limited. This paucity of information primarily arises since, until recently, x-ray diffraction has been used mainly to determine hydrogen positions either indirectly from stereochemical considerations of the ligand disposition about the metals or directly from weak peaks of electron density in difference Fourier maps. The inherent limi-... 

The photochemical studies of transition metal hydride complexes that have appeared in the chemical literature are reviewed, with primary emphasis on studies of iridium and ruthenium that were conducted by our research group. The photochemistry of the molybdenum hydride complexes Mo(tj5-C5H5)2M2] and [MoH4(dppe)2] (dppe = Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2), which eliminate H2 upon photolysis, is discussed in detail. The photoinduced elimination of molecular hydrogen from di-and polyhydride complexes of the transition elements is proposed to be a general reaction pathway. 

When activated by metallic catalysts, hydrogen may be transferred from the metallic center to unsaturated organic molecules. The nature and reactivity of transition metal hydrides depend on the central metals as well as on the electronic and steric properties of the ligands. Metal hydrides with optically active ligands are chiral and thus, are capable of asymmetric hydrogenation. 

The transition metal hydrides exhibit such wide variations from stoichiometric compositions that they have often been considered interstitial solid solutions of hydrogen in the metal. This implies that the metal lattice has the same structure in the hydride phase as in the pure metal. That this is not the case can be seen in Table I, where of 28 hydrides formed by direct reaction of metal and hydrogen, only three (Ce, Ac, Pd) do not change structure on hydride formation. Even in these three cases, there is a large discontinuous increase in lattice parameter. The change in structure on addition of hydrogen plus the high heats of formation (20 to 50 kcal. per mole) (27) indicates that the transition metal hydrides should be considered definite chemical compounds rather than interstitial solid solutions,... 

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