Borderline hydrides

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Borderline hydrides typically refer to hydrides formed of hydrogen and elements of the periodic table in group 11 and group 12 and indium (In) and thallium (Tl).[ citation needed ] These compounds have properties intermediate between covalent hydrides and saline hydrides. Hydrides are chemical compounds that contain a metal and hydrogen acting as a negative ion.

Contents

Properties

Borderline hydrides exhibit bonding characteristics between ionic and covalent bond types. A specific example of a borderline hydride is CuH, copper hydride, that appears as a spongy reddish-brown substance is a moderate reducing agent. It will catalytically oxidize hypophosphorous acid to phosphorous acid at room temperature, and it gives off hydrogen gas when subjected to heat. [1] ZnH2 is also a solid at room temperature that breaks down at 90 °C, but even left alone decomposes over several days to zinc metal and hydrogen gas. [2] Hydrogen telluride (H2Te) and hydrogen selenide (H2Se) are both borderline hydrides of high volatility that produce strong, unpleasant odors.

Examples

Synthesis

Borderline hydrides are most commonly formed via the acidification or reduction of metal salts. For instance, copper hydride is formed by reacting copper sulfate and hypophosphorous acid at about 70 °C, forming a yellow precipitate that soon turns red-brown. [3] Zinc hydride, ZnH2, can be formed by the reduction of either a zinc halide or dimethylzinc.

ZnH2 synthesis via reduction of zinc iodide Db8240img2.png
ZnH2 synthesis via reduction of zinc iodide

Alternative definition

An example of the classical dihydride M(H)2 (left) compared to the non-classical M(H2) dihydrogen bonding (right). MH2.png
An example of the classical dihydride M(H)2 (left) compared to the non-classical M(H2) dihydrogen bonding (right).

A more recent definition of borderline hydrides refers to hydrides that exist between classic and non-classic dihydrides. The classic form is the dihydride M(H)2 configuration, where the metal is bound to two free hydrogen atoms. The non-classic form contains two hydrogen atoms bound to a central metal atom with an η2-H2 hapticity, indicating that a single coordination point on the metal atom bonds to two contiguous atoms from another molecule, in this case H2. [4] A well-known example of this is from the first such molecule to be synthesized with a coordinated hydrogen ligand (dihydrogen complex): W(CO)3(PPri3)22-H2). [5] Classic dihydrides containing the dihydride M-(H)2 ligands are typically found as a tautomer with the non-classical dihydrogen complexes containing a M-(η2-H2) group.

Borderline hydrides exist with a bond character somewhere between the classical and non-classical hydrides. [6] Those that are thermally unstable exhibit stretching frequencies νHH greater than 2150 cm−1 as a result of poor electron donation from the metal center. An electron dense metal center will yield hydride with a νHH less than 2060 cm−1, while anything between is considered to be in the borderline region. Kubas, et al. state that a stretching frequency of 2090 cm−1 is within the bounds of stable H2 complexes while 2060 cm−1 is right on the borderline between dihydrogen and dihydrides. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydride</span> Molecule with a hydrogen bound to a more electropositive element or group

In chemistry, a hydride is formally the anion of hydrogen (H), a hydrogen ion with two electrons. In modern usage, this is typically only used for ionic bonds, but it is sometimes (and more frequently in the past) been applied to all compounds containing covalently bound H atoms. In this broad and potentially archaic sense, water (H2O) is a hydride of oxygen, ammonia is a hydride of nitrogen, etc. In covalent compounds, it implies hydrogen is attached to a less electronegative element. In such cases, the H centre has nucleophilic character, which contrasts with the protic character of acids. The hydride anion is very rarely observed.

Oxidative addition and reductive elimination are two important and related classes of reactions in organometallic chemistry. Oxidative addition is a process that increases both the oxidation state and coordination number of a metal centre. Oxidative addition is often a step in catalytic cycles, in conjunction with its reverse reaction, reductive elimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dihydrogen bond</span>

In chemistry, a dihydrogen bond is a kind of hydrogen bond, an interaction between a metal hydride bond and an OH or NH group or other proton donor. With a van der Waals radius of 1.2 Å, hydrogen atoms do not usually approach other hydrogen atoms closer than 2.4 Å. Close approaches near 1.8 Å, are, however, characteristic of dihydrogen bonding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hapticity</span> Number of contiguous atoms in a ligand that bond to the central atom in a coordination complex

In coordination chemistry, hapticity is the coordination of a ligand to a metal center via an uninterrupted and contiguous series of atoms. The hapticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter η ('eta'). For example, η2 describes a ligand that coordinates through 2 contiguous atoms. In general the η-notation only applies when multiple atoms are coordinated. In addition, if the ligand coordinates through multiple atoms that are not contiguous then this is considered denticity, and the κ-notation is used once again. When naming complexes care should be taken not to confuse η with μ ('mu'), which relates to bridging ligands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dihydrogen complex</span> Containing intact H2 as a ligand

Dihydrogen complexes are coordination complexes containing intact H2 as a ligand. They are a subset of sigma complexes. The prototypical complex is W(CO)3(PCy3)2(H2). This class of compounds represent intermediates in metal-catalyzed reactions involving hydrogen. Hundreds of dihydrogen complexes have been reported. Most examples are cationic transition metals complexes with octahedral geometry.

Transition metal hydrides are chemical compounds containing a transition metal bonded to hydrogen. Most transition metals form hydride complexes and some are significant in various catalytic and synthetic reactions. The term "hydride" is used loosely: some of them are acidic (e.g., H2Fe(CO)4), whereas some others are hydridic, having H-like character (e.g., ZnH2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryllium hydride</span> Chemical compound

Beryllium hydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula n. This alkaline earth hydride is a colourless solid that is insoluble in solvents that do not decompose it. Unlike the ionically bonded hydrides of the heavier Group 2 elements, beryllium hydride is covalently bonded.

Zinc hydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula ZnH2. It is a white, odourless solid which slowly decomposes into its elements at room temperature; despite this it is the most stable of the binary first row transition metal hydrides. A variety of coordination compounds containing Zn–H bonds are used as reducing agents, but ZnH2 itself has no common applications.

Binary compounds of hydrogen are binary chemical compounds containing just hydrogen and one other chemical element. By convention all binary hydrogen compounds are called hydrides even when the hydrogen atom in it is not an anion. These hydrogen compounds can be grouped into several types.

Cadmium hydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula (CdH
2
)
n
. It is a solid, known only as a thermally unstable, insoluble white powder.

Mercury(I) hydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula HgH. It has not yet been obtained in bulk, hence its bulk properties remain unknown. However, molecular mercury(I) hydrides with the formulae HgH and Hg
2
H
2
have been isolated in solid gas matrices. The molecular hydrides are very unstable toward thermal decomposition. As such the compound is not well characterised, although many of its properties have been calculated via computational chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury(II) hydride</span> Chemical compound

Mercury(II) hydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula HgH
2
. It is both thermodynamically and kinetically unstable at ambient temperature, and as such, little is known about its bulk properties. However, it can also be a white, crystalline solid, which is kinetically stable at temperatures below −125 °C (−193 °F), which was synthesized for the first time in 1951.

Chromium(II) hydride, systematically named chromium dihydride and poly­(dihydridochromium) is pale brown solid inorganic compound with the chemical formula (CrH2)n. Although it is thermodynamically unstable toward decomposition at ambient temperatures, it is kinetically metastable.

Iron(II) hydride, systematically named iron dihydride and poly(dihydridoiron) is solid inorganic compound with the chemical formula (FeH
2
)
n
(also written ([FeH
2
]
)n or FeH
2
). ). It is kinetically unstable at ambient temperature, and as such, little is known about its bulk properties. However, it is known as a black, amorphous powder, which was synthesised for the first time in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorobis(dppe)iron hydride</span> Chemical compound

Chlorobis(dppe)iron hydride is a coordination complex with the formula HFeCl(dppe)2, where dppe is the bidentate ligand 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane. It is a red-violet solid. The compound has attracted much attention as a precursor to dihydrogen complexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnesium monohydride</span> Chemical compound

Magnesium monohydride is a molecular gas with formula MgH that exists at high temperatures, such as the atmospheres of the Sun and stars. It was originally known as magnesium hydride, although that name is now more commonly used when referring to the similar chemical magnesium dihydride.

Metal-ligand cooperativity (MLC) is a mode of reactivity in which a metal and ligand of a complex are both involved in the bond breaking or bond formation of a substrate during the course of a reaction. This ligand is an actor ligand rather than a spectator, and the reaction is generally only deemed to contain MLC if the actor ligand is doing more than leaving to provide an open coordination site. MLC is also referred to as "metal-ligand bifunctional catalysis." Note that MLC is not to be confused with cooperative binding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetrakis(trimethylphosphine)tungsten(II) trimethylphospinate hydride</span> Chemical compound

Tetrakis(trimethylphosphine)tungsten(II) trimethylphospinate hydride (W(PMe3)42-CH2PMe2)H) is an air-sensitive organotungsten complex with tungsten in the oxidation state of +2. It is an electron-rich tungsten center is and, thus, prone to oxidation. This bright-yellow complex has been used as a starting retron for some challenging chemistry, such as C-C bond activation, tungsten-chalcogenide multiple bonding, tungsten-tetrel multiple bonding, and desulfurization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tantalocene trihydride</span> Chemical compound

Tantalocene trihydride, or bis(η5-cyclopentadienyl)trihydridotantalum, is an organotanalum compound in the family of bent metallocenes consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings and three hydrides coordinated to a tantalum center. Its formula is TaCp2H3, and it is a white crystalline compound that is sensitive to air. It is the first example of a molecular trihydride of a transition metal.

A metal-formaldehyde complex is a coordination complex in which a formaldehyde ligand has two bonds to the metal atom(s) (η2-CH2O). This type of ligand has been reported in both monometallic and bimetallic complexes.

References

  1. Bartlett, Edwin J.; Merrill, Walter H. (1895). "Cupric Hydride" (PDF). American Chemical Journal . 17: 185–189.
  2. A. E. Finholt; A. C. Bond, Jr.; H. I. Schlesinger (1947). "Lithium Aluminum Hydride, Aluminum Hydride and Lithium Gallium Hydride, and Some of their Applications in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry". Journal of the American Chemical Society . 69 (5): 1199–1203. doi:10.1021/ja01197a061.
  3. Fownes, George; Henry Watts (1885). Fownes' Manual of Chemistry, Theoretical and Practical. Philadelphia, PA: Lea Brothers & Co. pp.  372–373. Retrieved 2010-10-19. cuprous hydride.
  4. Crabtree, Robert H.; et al. (April 1990). "Dihydrogen Complexes: Some Structural and Chemical Studies". Accounts of Chemical Research . 23 (4): 95–101. doi:10.1021/ar00172a001.
  5. 1 2 Kubas, Gregory J. (March 1988). "Molecular hydrogen complexes: coordination of a σ bond to transition metals". Accounts of Chemical Research . 21 (3): 120–128. doi:10.1021/ar00147a005.
  6. Crabtree, Robert H.; et al. (January 1992). "Molecular hydrogen complexes: coordination of a σ bond to transition metals". Organometallics . 11 (1): 237–241. doi:10.1021/om00037a044.