Octachloro- and Octabromoditechnetate(III) and Their Rhenium(III) Congeners

Choline chloride-formic acid mixture as a medium for the reduction of pertechnetates - electrochemical and spectroscopic studies

The physicochemical properties of a choline chloride (ChCl) and formic acid (FA) mixture (1 : 2 molar ratio) have been studied over a broad range of temperatures (-140 to 60 °C). Differential scanning calorimetry has shown that the examined system remains in the liquid state at very low temperatures - a glass transition is observed in the range of -125 °C to -90 °C. The kinematic viscosity, ionic conductivity and the width of the electrochemical window determined for this system revealed its beneficial electrochemical properties. This indicates the suitability of ChCl : FA electrolytes in electrochemical measurements. In this non-aqueous electrolyte, electrochemical reduction of Tc(VII) ions has been studied for the first time. Cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry experiments revealed that the electroreduction of pertechnetates is a multi-path process which leads to the formation of a Tc(IV) ionic form. X-Ray absorption spectroscopy of the latter revealed its structure as a TcCl₆^2- complex.

Expanding the Chemistry of Rhenium Metal-Metal Bonded Fluoro Complexes: Facile Preparation and Characterization of Paddlewheel Complexes

Quadruply bonded rhenium(III) dimers with the stoichiometry Re₂L₄F₂ (1, L = hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2a]pyrimidinate (hpp^-); 2, L = diphenyl formamidinate (dpf^-)) were prepared from the solid-state melt reactions (SSMRs) between (NH₄)₂[Re₂F₈]·2H₂O and HL. Those compounds were characterized in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and in solution by UV-visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The compound [Re₂(hpp)₄F₂]PF₆ (3) was prepared from the one-electron oxidation of Re₂(hpp)₄F₂ with [Cp₂Fe]PF₆. Compounds 1-3 are isostructural with the corresponding chloro derivatives. In solution, compound 1 undergoes two one-electron oxidations. Comparison with its higher halogen homologues reveals that Re₂(hpp)₄F₂ (1) is more easily oxidized than its chloro and bromo analogues.

Octafluorodirhenate(III) Revisited: Solid-State Preparation, Characterization, and Multiconfigurational Quantum Chemical Calculations

A simple method for the high-yield preparation of (NH4)2[Re2F8]·2H2O has been developed that involves the reaction of (n-Bu4N)2[Re2Cl8] with molten ammonium bifluoride (NH4HF2). Using this method, the new salt [NH4]2[Re2F8]·2H2O was prepared in ∼90% yield. The product was characterized in solution by ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) and (19)F nuclear magnetic resonance ((19)F NMR) spectroscopies and in the solid-state by elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Multiconfigurational CASSCF/CASPT2 quantum chemical calculations were performed to investigate the molecular and electronic structure, as well as the electronic absorption spectrum of the [Re2F8](2-) anion. The metal-metal bonding in the Re2(6+) unit was quantified in terms of effective bond order (EBO) and compared to that of its [Re2Cl8](2-) and [Re2Br8](2-) analogues.

Electronic structure and spectroscopy of homoleptic compounds of dimolybdenum using TDDFT

Ten compounds of dimolybdenum are studied using density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory. The energy of the strongest symmetry-allowed bands is calculated. The results are then compared with experimental data, when available. The PW91 functional gives results for geometry and for the energy of the δ→δ* band that show good agreement with experimental data. However, the B3LYP functional gives more realistic values for the whole spectrum when the results are compared with experimental data. Finally, the different values of energy of these bands are explained analyzing the molecular orbitals involved in these transitions. Some ligands can act as an unsaturated system in conjugation with the delta bond, modifying the energies of the electronic transitions.

An unconventional method for measuring the Tc L3-edge of technetium compounds

Tc L3-edge XANES spectra have been collected on powder samples of SrTcO3 (octahedral Tc(4+)) and NH4TcO4 (tetrahedral Tc(7+)) immobilized in an epoxy resin. Features in the Tc L3-edge XANES spectra are compared with the pre-edge feature of the Tc K-edge as well as other 4d transition metal L3-edges. Evidence of crystal field splitting is obvious in the Tc L3-edge, which is sensitive to the coordination number and oxidation state of the Tc cation. The Tc L3 absorption edge energy difference between SrTcO3 (Tc(4+)) and NH4TcO4 (Tc(7+)) shows that the energy shift at the Tc L3-edge is an effective tool for studying changes in the oxidation states of technetium compounds. The Tc L3-edge spectra are compared with those obtained from Mo and Ru oxide standards with various oxidation states and coordination environments. Most importantly, fitting the Tc L3-edge to component peaks can provide direct evidence of crystal field splitting that cannot be obtained from the Tc K-edge.

Synthetic and coordination chemistry of the heavier trivalent technetium binary halides: uncovering technetium triiodide

Technetium tribromide and triiodide were obtained from the reaction of the quadruply Tc-Tc-bonded dimer Tc2(O2CCH3)4Cl2 with flowing HX(g) (X = Br, I) at elevated temperatures. At 150 and 300 °C, the reaction with HBr(g) yields TcBr3 crystallizing with the TiI3 structure type. The analogous reactions with flowing HI(g) yield TcI3, the first technetium binary iodide to be reported. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) measurements show the compound to be amorphous at 150 °C and semicrystalline at 300 °C. X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy indicates TcI3 to consist of face-sharing TcI6 octahedra. Reactions of technetium metal with elemental iodine in a sealed Pyrex ampules in the temperature range 250-400 °C were performed. At 250 °C, no reaction occurred, while the reaction at 400 °C yielded a product whose PXRD pattern matches the one of TcI3 obtained from the reaction of Tc2(O2CCH3)4Cl2 and flowing HI(g). The thermal stability of TcBr3 and TcI3 was investigated in Pyrex and/or quartz ampules at 450 °C under vacuum. Technetium tribromide decomposes to Na{[Tc6Br12]2Br} in a Pyrex ampule and to technetium metal in a quartz ampule; technetium triiodide decomposes to technetium metal in a Pyrex ampule.

Probing the presence of multiple metal-metal bonds in technetium chlorides by X-ray absorption spectroscopy: implications for synthetic chemistry

The cesium salts of [Tc(2)X(8)](3-) (X = Cl, Br), the reduction product of (n-Bu(4)N)[TcOCl(4)] with (n-Bu(4)N)BH(4) in THF, and the product obtained from reaction of Tc(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(4)Cl(2) with HCl(g) at 300 °C have been characterized by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. For the [Tc(2)X(8)](3-) anions, the Tc-Tc separations found by EXAFS spectroscopy (2.12(2) Å for both X = Cl and Br) are in excellent agreement with those found by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) measurements (2.117[4] Å for X = Cl and 2.1265(1) Å for X = Br). The Tc-Tc separation found by EXAFS in these anions is slightly shorter than those found in the [Tc(2)X(8)](2-) anions (2.16(2) Å for X = Cl and Br). Spectroscopic and SCXRD characterization of the reduction product of (n-Bu(4)N)[TcOCl(4)] with (n-Bu(4)N)BH(4) are consistent with the presence of dinuclear species that are related to the [Tc(2)Cl(8)](n-) (n = 2, 3) anions. From these results, a new preparation of (n-Bu(4)N)(2)[Tc(2)Cl(8)] was developed. Finally, EXAFS characterization of the product obtained from reaction of Tc(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(4)Cl(2) with HCl(g) at 300 °C indicates the presence of amorphous α-TcCl(3). The Tc-Tc separation (i.e., 2.46(2) Å) measured in this compound is consistent with the presence of Tc═Tc double bonds in the [Tc(3)](9+) core.

Multi-configurational quantum chemical studies of the Tc2X8(n-) (X = Cl, Br; n = 2, 3) anions. Crystallographic structure of octabromoditechnetate(3-)

The [Cs((2 + x))][H(3)O((1 - x))]Tc(2)Br(8)·4.6H(2)O (x = 0.221) salt has been synthesized and characterized by single crystal XRD. Multi-configurational quantum chemical calculations on Tc(2)X(8)(n-) (X = Cl, Br; n = 2, 3) have been performed and indicate the π component in the Tc-Tc bond to be stronger for n = 3.

On the nature of homo- and hetero-dinuclear metal–metal quadruple bonds — Analysis of the bonding situation and benchmarking DFT against wave function methods

Homo- and hetero-dimetallic (d–d)8 analogues of the formally quadruply bonded [Re2Cl8]2– system with the general formula [MM′Cl8]x (M, M′ = Tc, Re, Ru, Os, Rh, Ir and x = –2, –1, 0, +1, +2) have been calculated with the density functional theory (DFT) functionals SVWN, BLYP, BP86, PBE, OLYP, OPBE, HCTH, B3LYP, O3LYP, X3LYP, BH&HLYP, TPSS, VSXC, TPPSh, and ab initio methods (CASPT2, CCSD(T)) using basis sets of triple-ζ quality. The performance of the functionals for the description of the metal–metal bond distance and the bond dissociation energy as well as the singlet–triplet gap was evaluated with respect to ab initio data at the CASPT2 level. Generally, the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functionals, BLYP, BP86, and PBE, show good performance in the description of the metal–metal bond distance and for the dissociation energy. Hybrid functionals are not to be used for compounds of the type discussed here as they lead to increasingly too short and too weak bonds with the amount of exact exchange included. All functionals underestimate the singlet–triplet gap, with the GGA functionals BLYP, BP86, PBE being the closest to the CASPT2 values. The bonding situations of the [MM′Cl8]x compounds were analyzed at the DFT level (BP86) using the natural bond orbital (NBO) method and the energy decomposition analysis. The M–M bond in homodimetallic compounds, [MMCl8]x, becomes weaker from group 7 to group 8 to group 9 metals and the bond is weaker for 4d metal systems than for 5d transition metal compounds. The M–M bonds have approximately 50% covalent and 50% electrostatic character and the covalent contribution is dominated by the π orbitals, whereas the δ orbitals do not contribute significantly to the covalent bonding. Heterodimetallic systems, [MM′Cl8]x, have significantly stronger metal–metal bonds than the homodimetallic compounds. This comes from weaker Pauli repulsion and stronger electrostatic attraction. The most stable heterodimetallic bonds are observed for 5d–5d metal pairs.

Structural, spectroscopic, and multiconfigurational quantum chemical investigations of the electron-rich metal-metal triple-bonded Tc(2)X(4)(PMe(3))(4) (X = Cl, Br) complexes

The compounds Tc(2)Cl(4)(PMe(3))(4) and Tc(2)Br(4)(PMe(3))(4) were formed from the reaction between (n-Bu(4)N)(2)Tc(2)X(8) (X = Cl, Br) and trimethylphosphine. The Tc(II) dinuclear species were characterized by single-crystal XRD, UV-visible spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry techniques, and the results are compared to those obtained from density functional theory and multiconfigurational (CASSCF/CASPT2) quantum chemical studies. The compound Tc(2)Cl(4)(PMe(3))(4) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c [a = 17.9995(9) A, b = 9.1821(5) A, c = 17.0090(9) A, beta = 115.4530(10) degrees ] and is isostructural to M(2)Cl(4)(PMe(3))(4) (M = Re, Mo, W) and to Tc(2)Br(4)(PMe(3))(4). The metal-metal distance (2.1318(2) A) is similar to the one found in Tc(2)Br(4)(PMe(3))(4) (2.1316(5) A). The calculated molecular structures of the ground states are in excellent agreement with the structures determined experimentally. Calculations of effective bond orders for Tc(2)X(8)(2-) and Tc(2)X(4)(PMe(3))(4) (X = Cl, Br) indicate stronger pi bonds in the Tc(2)(4+) core than in Tc(2)(6+) core. The electronic spectra were recorded in benzene and show a series of low intensity bands in the range 10 000-26 000 cm(-1). Assignment of the bands as well as computing their excitation energies and intensities were performed at both TD-DFT and CASSCF/CASPT2 levels of theory. Calculations predict that the lowest energy band corresponds to the delta* --> sigma* transition, the difference between calculated and experimental values being 228 cm(-1) for X = Cl and 866 cm(-1) for X = Br. The next bands are attributed to delta* --> pi*, delta --> sigma*, and delta --> pi* transitions. The cyclic voltammograms exhibit two reversible waves and indicate that Tc(2)Br(4)(PMe(3))(4) exhibits more positive oxidation potentials than Tc(2)Cl(4)(PMe(3))(4.) This phenomenon is discussed and ascribed to stronger metal (d) to halide (d) back bonding in the bromo complex. Further analysis indicates that Tc(II) dinuclear species containing pi-acidic phosphines are more difficult to oxidize, and a correlation between oxidation potential and phosphine acidity was established.