A Mössbauer effect and Fenske-Hall molecular orbital study of the bonding in a series of organoiron-copper clusters

Electronic and Geometric Structure of Bimetallic Clusters: Density Functional Calculations on [M(4){Fe(CO)(4)}(4)](4-) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) and [Ag(13){Fe(CO)(4)}(8)](n)(-) (n = 0-5)

The results of all-electron density functional calculations on the bimetallic cluster compounds [M(4){Fe(CO)(4)}(4)](4-) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) and on the corresponding naked species M(4)Fe(4) are reported. The trends within the triad have been investigated. The bare metal clusters exhibit a strong magnetization which is quenched on addition of CO ligands. The bonding in the bare clusters is different for the silver derivative compared to that of copper and gold, resulting in comparatively weaker Ag-Fe and Ag-Ag bonds. This can be rationalized in terms of the different d-sp mixing, which for Cu and Au is larger than for Ag. Relativistic effects act to increase the 4d-5s mixing in Ag and to strengthen the intermetallic bond with Fe. In the carbonylated clusters a charge transfer from the metal M (M = Cu, Ag, or Au) to the Fe(CO)(4) groups occurs so that the atoms M can be considered in a formal +I oxidation state, rationalizing the nearly square-planar geometry of the metal frame. In fact, the local coordination of the M atoms is almost linear, as expected for complexes of M(I). The addition of extra electrons results in a stabilization of the clusters, indicating the electron-deficient nature of these compounds. Similar features have been found for the largest cluster synthesized so far for this class of compounds, [Ag(13){Fe(CO)(4)}(8)](n)(-), (n = 0-5). The nature and localization of the unpaired electron in the tetraanion is also discussed.

Solid State Dynamics of Tricarbonyl(eta-1,5-cyclohexadienylium)iron Tetrafluoroborate and Tricarbonyl(eta-1,5-cycloheptadienylium)iron Tetrafluoroborate

The dynamic behavior of [(C(6)H(7))Fe(CO)(3)]BF(4) (I) and [(C(7)H(9))Fe(CO)(3)]BF(4) (II) in the solid state has been investigated principally by NMR spectroscopy. High-resolution variable-temperature (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra indicate that both complexes have a solid state phase transition above which there is rapid reorientation of the cyclodienylium rings and fast exchange of the carbonyl groups. The transition occurs between 253 and 263 K for I and between 329 and 341 K for II. The presence of the phase transition is confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy supports the notion that complex I is highly mobile at room temperature, while II is relatively static. The activation energy for the cyclodienylium group rotation in the high-temperature phase of I is estimated from (1)H spin-lattice relaxation time measurements to be 17.5 kJ mol(-)(1). Static (13)C NMR measurements of the solid complexes in the high-temperature phase indicate that the (13)C chemical shift anisotropies are only 20-30 ppm. This is significantly less than that expected to result from motion of individual groups and thus suggests that rotation of the whole molecule is involved. A single-crystal X-ray structural determination of complex II, at 295 K, showed that the complex is tetragonal (space group P4(1), a = 10.610(1) Å, c = 21.761(3) Å, V = 2449.7(5) Å(3), rho(calc) = 1.734 g cm(-)(3)), with eight cycloheptadienyl cations and eight tetrafluoroborate anions per unit cell. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction studies of both I and II confirm that at low temperatures both complexes have a tetragonal unit cell, which transforms to a cubic unit cell above the phase transition. The powder patterns, recorded above the phase transition, support the proposal that the complexes are undergoing whole-molecule tumbling in their dynamic regimes.