Transition stabilization energies

Let us now turn to the surfaces themselves to learn the kinds of kinetic information they contain. First observe that the potential energy surface of Fig. 5-2 is drawn to be symmetrical about the 45° diagonal. This is the type of surface to be expected for a symmetrical reaction like H -I- H2 = H2 -h H, in which the reactants and products are identical. The corresponding reaction coordinate diagram in Fig. 5-3, therefore, shows the reactants and products having the same stability (energy) and the transition state appearing at precisely the midpoint of the reaction coordinate. 

Field Stabilization Energies, or LFSE s. The variation in LFSE across the transition-metal series is shown graphically in Fig. 8-6. It is no accident, of course, that the plots intercept the abscissa for d, d and ions, for that is how the LFSE is defined. Ions with all other d configurations are more stable than the d, d or d ions, at least so far as this one aspect is concerned. For the high-spin cases, we note a characteristic double-hump trace and note that we expect particular stability conferred upon d and d octahedral ions. For the low-spin series, we observe a particularly stable arrangement for ions. More will be said about these systems in the next chapter. 

Table 1.3 contains values for two 3d cases. At KsCuFg, ATreplirreg) contributes about 40% of the total stabilization, but at Ni (aq) only 15%. This is because in the first transition series, the nephelauxetic effect increases substantially when the oxidation state increases from -i-2 to -e3. The relatively small contribution for the M (aq) ion explains why text books use this example to explain the double bowl shapes AErep(irreg) is almost exactly cancelled by the sum of AEso and ATrix, so the total stabilization is nearly equal to the orbital stabilization energy. In most other cases, A rep(irreg) is much more important and may play an important role in sustaining the Irving-WilUams rule in complex-ing reactions [32, 33]. 

In order to compare the structural options for transition metal compounds and to estimate which of them are most favorable energetically, the ligand field stabilization energy (LFSE) is a useful parameter. This is defined as the difference between the repulsion energy of the bonding electrons toward the d electrons as compared to a notional repulsion energy that would exist if the d electron distribution were spherical. 

If one examines the minimal sequences of reaction steps for [2+2] cycloadditions, Eqs. 12—18, 32—35, one concludes that stereochemistry of addition, and perhaps relative reactivities might be calculable at several points. Oriented complexes could control regiospecificity, or the transition state leading to a biradical could be the important stage. Relative rates of product formation would be derived from relative perturbation stabilization energies for different configurations of the two reactants. 

Another factor that affects trends in the stability constants of complexes formed by a series of metal ions is the crystal field stabilization energy. As was shown in Chapter 17, the aqua complexes for +2 ions of first-row transition metals reflect this effect by giving higher heats of hydration than would be expected on the basis of sizes and charges of the ions. Crystal field stabilization, as discussed in Section 17.4, would also lead to increased stability for complexes containing ligands other than water. It is a pervasive factor in the stability of many types of complexes. Because ligands that form tt bonds... 

The ligand field stabilization energy is only one aspect of the formation of a transition state. Because the reactions are carried out in solutions, solvation of the transition state and the entering ligand may have enough effect to assist in the formation of a particular transition state. Also, the fact that some... 

Labile species are usually main group metal ions with the exception of Cr2+ and Cu2+, whose lability can be ascribed to Jahn-Teller effects. Transition metals of classes II and III are species with small ligand field stabilization energies, whereas the inert species have high ligand field stabilization energies (LFSE). Examples include Cr3+ (3d3) and Co3+ (3d6). Jahn-Teller effects and LFSE are discussed in Section 1.6. Table 1.9 reports rate constant values for some aqueous solvent exchange reactions.8... 

Burdett (35—38) has applied the AOM in a similar way, but to a wider variety of cF configurations. He shows that the total electronic stabilization energy arising from o-overlap in a transition metal complex is given by ... 

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