The Structure of the Carbene Stabilized Si2H2 May Be Equally Well Described with Coordinate Bonds as with Classical Double Bonds

Transition-Metal Chemistry of Alkaline-Earth Elements: The Trisbenzene Complexes M(Bz)3 (M=Sr, Ba)

We report the synthesis and spectroscopic identification of the trisbenzene complexes of strontium and barium M(Bz)3 (M=Sr, Ba) in low-temperature Ne matrix. Both complexes are characterized by a D3 symmetric structure involving three equivalent η6 -bound benzene ligands and a closed-shell singlet electronic ground state. The analysis of the electronic structure shows that the complexes exhibit metal-ligand bonds that are typical for transition metal compounds. The chemical bonds can be explained in terms of weak donation from the π MOs of benzene ligands into the vacant (n-1)d AOs of M and strong backdonation from the occupied (n-1)d AO of M into vacant π* MOs of benzene ligands. The metals in these 20-electron complexes have 18 effective valence electrons, and, thus, fulfill the 18-electron rule if only the metal-ligand bonding electrons are counted. The results suggest that the heavier alkaline earth atoms exhibit the full bonding scenario of transition metals.

Systematic First-Principles Configuration-Interaction Calculations of Linear Optical Absorption Spectra in Silicon Hydrides: Si2H2n (n = 1-3)

We have performed first-principles electron-correlated calculations employing large basis sets to optimize the geometries and to compute linear optical absorption spectra of various low-lying conformers of silicon hydrides: Si₂H_2n, n = 1, 2, 3. The geometry optimization for various isomers was carried out at the coupled-cluster singles-doubles-perturbative-triples [CCSD(T)] level of theory, while their excited states and absorption spectra were computed using a large-scale multireference singles-doubles configuration-interaction approach, which includes electron-correlation effects at a sophisticated level. Our calculated spectra are the first ones for Si₂H₂ and Si₂H₄ conformers, while for Si₂H₆, we obtain excellent agreement with the experimental measurements, suggesting that our computational approach is reliable. Our calculated absorption spectra exhibit a strong structure-property relationship, suggesting the possibility of identifying various conformers based on their optical absorption fingerprints. Furthermore, we have also performed geometry optimization for the selected optically excited states, providing insights into their character.

Octacarbonyl Ion Complexes of Actinides [An(CO)8 ]+/- (An=Th, U) and the Role of f Orbitals in Metal-Ligand Bonding

The octacarbonyl cation and anion complexes of actinide metals [An(CO)₈ ]^+/- (An=Th, U) are prepared in the gas phase and are studied by mass-selected infrared photodissociation spectroscopy. Both the octacarbonyl cations and anions have been characterized to be saturated coordinated complexes. Quantum chemical calculations by using density functional theory show that the [Th(CO)₈ ]⁺ and [Th(CO)₈ ]^- complexes have a distorted octahedral (D_4h ) equilibrium geometry and a doublet electronic ground state. Both the [U(CO)₈ ]⁺ cation and the [U(CO)₈ ]^- anion exhibit cubic structures (O_h ) with a ⁶ A_1g ground state for the cation and a ⁴ A_1g ground state for the anion. The neutral species [Th(CO)₈ ] (O_h ; ¹ A_1g ) and [U(CO)₈ ] (D_4h ; ⁵ B_1u ) have also been calculated. Analysis of their electronic structures with the help on an energy decomposition method reveals that, along with the dominating 6d valence orbitals, there are significant 5f orbital participation in both the [An]←CO σ donation and [An]→CO π back donation interactions in the cations and anions, for which the electronic reference state of An has both occupied and vacant 5f AOs. The trend of the valence orbital contribution to the metal-CO bonds has the order of 6d≫5f>7s≈7p, with the 5f orbitals of uranium being more important than the 5f orbitals of thorium.

Two quasi-stable lead(ii) hydrides at ambient temperature

Simple reactions of their terphenyl lead bromide precursors with DIBAL-H in diethyl ether solution at ca. -78 °C leads to the isolation of the hydrides {Pb(μ-H)ArPri4}2 (ArPri4 = C6H3-2,6-(C6H3-2,6-Pri2)2) (1) and {Pb(μ-H)ArMe6}2 (ArMe6 = C6H3-2,6-(C6H2-2,4,6-Me3)2) (2) in good yield (60-80%). The isolated solids are stable at up to 5 °C for several weeks but are thermally labile in solution. Hydride 1 decomposes to the diplumbyne ArPri4PbPbArPri4, while 2 decomposes to the plumbylene Pb(ArMe6)2. The decomposition of 1 was determined to be zero order with a rate constant of ca. 2.0 × 10-5 M min-1 at 298 K.

Bent Phosphaallenes With "Hidden" Lone Pairs as Ligands

Phosphaheteroallenes R-P=C=L, with L = N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), can be viewed to a certain extent as phosphaisonitriles stabilized with NHCs, R-P=C:←L. The suitability of these molecules as ligands for coinage-metal ions was investigated and coordination through the central carbon center was observed in most cases. A combination of experiments, spectroscopic methods, and DFT calculations indicates the presence of a hidden electron pair at the carbon center of R-P=C:←L. Remarkably, this lone pair also inserts intramolecularly in C-H bonds showing the carbene-type reactivity which is expected for phosphaisonitriles.

Synthesis of cAAC stabilized biradical of "Me2Si" and "Me2SiCl" monoradical from Me2SiCl2 - an important feedstock material

The cyclic alkyl(amino) carbene (cAAC) coordinated biradical of dimethylsilicon was isolated as (cAAC)2Me2Si (1), (cAAC = C(CH2)(CMe2)2N-2,6-i-Pr2C6H3), synthesized from the reduction of Me2SiCl2 using two equivalents of KC8 in the presence of two equivalents of cAAC. The reduction of Me2SiCl2 by one equivalent of KC8 in the presence of one equivalent of cAAC resulted in the stable dimethylsiliconchloride monoradical (cAAC)Me2SiCl (2).

The Lowest-Energy Isomer of C2Si2H4 Is a Bridged Ring: Reinterpretation of the Spectroscopic Data Based on DFT and Coupled-Cluster Calculations

The lowest-energy isomer of C 2 Si 2 H 4 is determined by high-accuracy ab initio calculations to be the bridged four-membered ring 1,2-didehydro-1,3-disilabicyclo[1.1.0]butane (1), contrary to prior theoretical and experimental studies favoring the three-member ring silylsilacyclopropenylidene (2). These and eight other low-lying minima on the potential energy surface are characterized and ordered by energy using the CCSD(T) method with complete basis set extrapolation, and the resulting benchmark-quality set of relative isomer energies is used to evaluate the performance of several comparatively inexpensive approaches based on many-body perturbation theory and density functional theory (DFT). Double-hybrid DFT methods are found to provide an exceptional balance of accuracy and efficiency for energy-ordering isomers. Free energy profiles are developed to reason the relatively large abundance of isomer 2 observed in previous measurements. Infrared spectra and photolysis reaction mechanisms are modeled for isomers 1 and 2, providing additional insight about previously reported spectra and photoisomerization channels.

Double-bond elucidation for arsagermene with a tricoordinate germanium center: a theoretical survey

Multiple-bonded heteronuclear combinations have recently received great attention because of the first experimental arsagermene (>GeAs–) synthesis, which is a relevant topic in organometallic chemistry.

Comparison of Two Phosphinidenes Binding to Silicon(IV)dichloride as well as to Silylene

The cyclic alkyl(amino) carbene (cAAC) anchored silylene with two phosphinidenes was isolated as (cAAC)Si{P(cAAC)}₂ (3) at room temperature, which was synthesized from the reduction of (Cl₂)Si{P(cAAC)}₂ (2) using 2 equiv of KC₈. Compound 2 resulted from the reaction of 2 equiv of (cAAC)PK (1) with 1 equiv of SiCl₄. Compounds 2 and 3 are the first examples where two terminal phosphinidenes are binding each to a silicon center characterized by single crystal X-ray structural analysis. Furthermore, the structure and bonding of compounds 2 and 3 have been investigated by theoretical methods for comparison.

NHCs in Main Group Chemistry

Since the discovery of the first stable N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) in the beginning of the 1990s, these divalent carbon species have become a common and available class of compounds, which have found numerous applications in academic and industrial research. Their important role as two-electron donor ligands, especially in transition metal chemistry and catalysis, is difficult to overestimate. In the past decade, there has been tremendous research attention given to the chemistry of low-coordinate main group element compounds. Significant progress has been achieved in stabilization and isolation of such species as Lewis acid/base adducts with highly tunable NHC ligands. This has allowed investigation of numerous novel types of compounds with unique electronic structures and opened new opportunities in the rational design of novel organic catalysts and materials. This Review gives a general overview of this research, basic synthetic approaches, key features of NHC-main group element adducts, and might be useful for the broad research community.

Benchmarking lithium amide versus amine bonding by charge density and energy decomposition analysis arguments

We investigated [{(Me₂NCH₂)₂(C₄H₂N)}Li]₂ (1) by means of experimental charge density calculations based on the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and DFT calculations using energy decomposition analysis (EDA).

Lithium amides are versatile C–H metallation reagents with vast industrial demand because of their high basicity combined with their weak nucleophilicity, and they are applied in kilotons worldwide annually. The nuclearity of lithium amides, however, modifies and steers reactivity, region- and stereo-selectivity and product diversification in organic syntheses. In this regard, it is vital to understand Li–N bonding as it causes the aggregation of lithium amides to form cubes or ladders from the polar Li–N covalent metal amide bond along the ring stacking and laddering principle. Deaggregation, however, is more governed by the Li←N donor bond to form amine adducts. The geometry of the solid state structures already suggests that there is σ- and π-contribution to the covalent bond. To quantify the mutual influence, we investigated [{(Me₂NCH₂)₂(C₄H₂N)}Li]₂ (1) by means of experimental charge density calculations based on the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and DFT calculations using energy decomposition analysis (EDA). This new approach allows for the grading of electrostatic Li⁺N^–, covalent Li–N and donating Li←N bonding, and provides a way to modify traditional widely-used heuristic concepts such as the –I and +I inductive effects. The electron density ρ(r) and its second derivative, the Laplacian ∇²ρ(r), mirror the various types of bonding. Most remarkably, from the topological descriptors, there is no clear separation of the lithium amide bonds from the lithium amine donor bonds. The computed natural partial charges for lithium are only +0.58, indicating an optimal density supply from the four nitrogen atoms, while the Wiberg bond orders of about 0.14 au suggest very weak bonding. The interaction energy between the two pincer molecules, (C₄H₂N)₂^2–, with the Li₂²⁺ moiety is very strong (ca. –628 kcal mol^–1), followed by the bond dissociation energy (–420.9 kcal mol^–1). Partitioning the interaction energy into the Pauli (ΔE_Pauli), dispersion (ΔE_disp), electrostatic (ΔE_elstat) and orbital (ΔE_orb) terms gives a 71–72% ionic and 25–26% covalent character of the Li–N bond, different to the old dichotomy of 95 to 5%. In this regard, there is much more potential to steer the reactivity with various substituents and donor solvents than has been anticipated so far.

Dative versus electron-sharing bonding in N-oxides and phosphane oxides R3EO and relative energies of the R2EOR isomers (E = N, P; R = H, F, Cl, Me, Ph). A theoretical study

Quantum chemical calculations using ab initio methods at the CCSD(T)/def2-TZVPP level and density functional theory using BP86 and M06-2X functionals in conjunction with def2-TZVPP basis sets have been carried out on the title molecules.

The Bonding Situation in Metalated Ylides

Quantum chemical calculations have been carried out to study the electronic structure of metalated ylides particularly in comparison to their neutral analogues, the bisylides. A series of compounds of the general composition Ph3 P-C-L with L being either a neutral or an anionic ligand were analyzed and the impact of the nature of the substituent L and the total charge on the electronics and bonding situation was studied. The charge at the carbon atom as well as the dissociation energies, bond lengths, and Wiberg bond indices strongly depend on the nature of L. Here, not only the charge of the ligand but also the position of the charge within the ligand backbone plays an important role. Independent of the substitution pattern, the NBO analysis reveals the preference of unsymmetrical bonding situations (P=C-L or P-C=L) for almost all compounds. However, Lewis structures with two lone-pair orbitals at the central carbon atom are equally valid for the description of the bonding situation. This is confirmed by the pronounced lone-pair character of the frontier orbitals. Energy decomposition analysis mostly reveals the preference of several bonding situations, mostly with dative and ylidic electron-sharing bonds (e.g., P→C- -L). In general, the anionic systems show a higher preference of the ylidic bonding situations compared to the neutral analogues. However, in most of the cases different resonance structures have to be considered for the description of the "real" bonding situation.

Carbones as Ligands in Novel Main-Group Compounds E[C(NHC)2 ]2 (E=Be, B+ , C2+ , N3+ , Mg, Al+ , Si2+ , P3+ ): A Theoretical Study

Quantum chemical calculations of the main-group compounds E[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂ (E=Be, B⁺ , C²⁺ , N³⁺ , Mg, Al⁺ , Si²⁺ , P³⁺ ) have been carried out using density functional theory at the BP86/def2-TZVPP and BP86-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVPP levels of theory. The geometry optimization at BP86/def2-TZVPP gives equilibrium structures with two-coordinated species E and bending angles C-E-C between 152.5° (E=Be) and 110.5° (E=Al). Inclusion of dispersion forces at BP86-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVPP yields a three-coordinated beryllium compound Be[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂ as the only energy minimum form. Three-coordinated isomers are found besides the two-coordinated energy minima for the boron and carbon cations B[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂⁺ and C[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂²⁺ . The three-coordinated form of the boron compound is energetically lower lying than the two-coordinated form, while the opposite trend is calculated for the carbon species. The theoretically predicted bond dissociation energies suggest that all compounds are viable species for experimental studies. The X-ray structure of the benzoannelated homologue of P[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂³⁺ that was recently reported by Dordevic et al. agrees quite well with the calculated geometry of the molecule. A detailed bonding analysis using charge and energy decomposition methods shows that the two-coordinated neutral compounds Be[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂ and Mg[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]₂ possess strongly positively charged atoms Be and Mg. The carbodicarbene groups C(NHC^Me )₂ serve as acceptor ligands in the compounds and may be sketched with dative bonds (NHC^Me )₂ C←E→C(NHC^Me )₂ (E=Be, Mg). Dative bonds in which the carbones C(NHC^Me )₂ are donor ligands are suggested for the cations (NHC^Me )₂ C→E←C(NHC^Me )₂ (E=B⁺ , Al⁺ ). The dications and trications possess electron-sharing bonds in which the bonding situation is best described with the formula [(NHC^Me )₂ C]⁺ -E-[C(NHC^Me )₂ ]⁺ (E=C, Si, N⁺ , P⁺ ).

NHC-Stabilised Acetylene-How Far Can the Analogy Be Pushed?

Experimental studies suggest that the compound (NHC^bz )₂ C₂ H₂ can be considered as a complex of a distorted acetylene fragment which is stabilised by benzoannelated N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (NHC^bz )→(C₂ H₂ )←(NHC^bz ). A quantum chemical analysis of the electronic structures shows that the description with dative bonds is more favourable than with electron-sharing double bonds (NHC^bz )=(C₂ H₂ )=(NHC^bz ).

Carbene stabilized interconnected bis-germylene and its silicon analogue with small methyl substituents

An unique molecular example of interconnected bis-germylene with the smallest organic group stabilized by cyclic alkyl(amino) carbene.

Synthesis and characterization of Lewis base stabilized mono- and di-organo aluminum radicals

Synthesis, structure, EPR and theoretical calculations of cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene stabilized mononuclear neutral radicals of aluminum containing mono- and di-organo groups.