Theoretical Study of the Structural and Electronic Properties of the Fe6−(C6H6)m, m = 3, 4, Complexes

Theoretical study of neutral and charged Fe7-(C6H6)m, m = 1, 2 rice-ball clusters

Bonding of benzene molecules on the surface of neutral and charged Fe7 clusters, which have pentagonal bipyramids (PBP), was studied by means of all-electrons density functional calculations. Dispersion corrections were done with the BPW91-D2 method using the 6-311++G(2d,2p) basis sets. With two less coordinated equatorial sites (bonded to four iron atoms) and one axial site (bonded to five atoms), a triangular face of Fe7 emerges as the basic unit for the absorption of benzene moieties. Bonding of benzene (Bz) on such triangle yields the ground state (GS) for Fe7Bz, Fe7Bz(-), and Fe7Bz(+). Without dispersion, in the GS of Fe7Bz(-), the ligand is η(6) coordinated with a single equatorial iron site, and in the GSs of Fe7Bz2 and Fe7Bz2(-), each benzene moiety is η(6) bonded on opposite equatorial sites. However, BPW91-D2 yields GS structures for Fe7Bz2, Fe7Bz2(-), and Fe7Bz2(+), where the absorption is done on opposite triangles. Therefore, dispersion corrections are crucial for a proper study of Fe7Bz2. The multiplicities (M = 2S + 1, where S is the total spin) of these species, 17, 16, and 18, respectively, are smaller than those of Fe7(23), Fe7(-)(22) and Fe7(+)(24) showing important quenching of the magnetic moment of Fe7. Bond dissociation energies (BDE), in kcal/mol, for Fe7Bz (32.7), Fe7Bz(+) (47.3), and Fe7Bz(-) (27.2) show bigger (smaller) values for the cation (anion). A similar picture was found for the BDEs of Fe7Bz2. Ionization energies, 5.37 and 4.94 eV, for m = 1 and 2 are smaller than that of Fe7, 6.00 eV; which is due to delocalization of the electrons through the network of 3d-π bonds. Electron affinities of Fe7Bz1,2 are also smaller than that of Fe7, being mainly due to the increased repulsion.

Theoretical study of structure, bonding, and electronic behavior of novel sandwich compounds M₃(C6R6)₂ (M = Ni, Pd, Pt; R = H, F)

The correlations between the structural and electronic properties of the monolayer clusters M₃ (where M = Ni, Pd, Pt) and the sandwich complexes M₃(C₆R₆)₂ (where M = Ni, Pd, Pt; R = H, F) were studied by performing quantum-chemical calculations. All of the sandwich complexes are strongly donating and backdonating metal-ligand bonding structures. The influence of the ligand as well as significant variations in the M-C, M-M, and C-C bond lengths and binding energies were examined to obtain a qualitative and quantitative picture of the intramolecular interactions in C₆R₆-M₃. Our theoretical investigations show that the binding energies of these sandwich complexes gradually decrease from Ni to Pt as well as from H to F, which can be explained via the frontier orbitals of the clusters M₃ and C₆R₆.

Theoretical study of the low-lying States of Fe2-(C6H6)3

Using the gradient-corrected BPW91 method and 6311++G(2d,2p) basis sets, it was found that adsorption of benzene by iron atoms forms a multiple-decker sandwich (MDS) geometry for the ground state (GS) of Fe(2)-(C(6)H(6))(3), as Fe(2) is broken. Though decoordination occurs, the ligands are bonded symmetrically to the Fe sites by η(6) (for the two external rings) and two η(3) (for the central ring) Fe-C coordinations; this big amount of Fe-C bonds enhances the stability of the MDS GS. This is unexpected, as the experiment suggests MDS for TM(n)-(C(6)H(6))(m) species of earlier transition metals (TMs) and clusters covered with benzene, i.e., rice-ball (RB) structures, for late 3d atoms. However, preserving Fe(2), an RB state was found, quasi-degenerate with the GS, with a smaller amount of Fe-C contacts and a stronger Fe(2) bond. The MDS shows higher stability for electron attachment and deletion events, but its adiabatic electron affinity, 1.11 eV, differs more from the experiment (0.80 ± 0.1 eV) than the one (0.97 eV) for RB. Thus, MDS and RB states can appear in a sample of Fe(2)-(C(6)H(6))(3). Like the electron affinity, the ionization energy of the complex is also smaller than those of the metal and benzene moieties, but closer to the former, signifying that the electron, delocalized through the 3d-π bonds, is mainly deleted from the metallic units.