Structural systematics of complexes of lanthanoid picrates with unidentate O-donor ligands and other related arrays

Eric Chan

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis

387 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Structures as determined by single crystal X-ray methods for lanthanoid(III) compounds for series of simple homoleptic species with diverse ligands frequently display variations entailing a diminution in coordination number (‘C.N.’), a consequence of the variation in the size of the atoms/ions due to the ‘lanthanoid contraction’. A change from C.N. nine to eight is common, clearly separating compounds of the light/‘early’ or heavy/‘later’ metal atoms. Earlier work on the complexes of the lanthanoid(III) picrates arose out of the exploration of simple reagents which might usefully exploit lanthanoid ion properties for purposes such as solvent extraction. They are also of potential synthetic utility because of their relatively high solubility in apolar solvents. This thesis encompasses a systematic structural study of hydrated lanthanoid picrate complexes (including those of yttrium) with a selection of dipolar aprotic solvent ligands, namely trimethylphosphate (‘tmp’), dimethylsulfoxide (‘dmso’), hexamethylphosphoramide (‘hmpa’), N,N´-dimethylacetamide (‘dma’), N-methylpyrrolidinone (‘nmp’) and octamethylpyrophosphoramide (‘ompa’), all liquids at room temperature and all unidentate, with the exception of ompa which can be considered in some cases to behave as the equivalent of two unidentate ligands, in others as a chelate. Structures of adducts of these ligands with scandium picrate are also included in order to gain further insight into the coordination behavior of the totality of the group ‘3’ transition metals, and, for similar reasons, a study of the structures of complexes of Eu(dipivaloylmethanide)3 with the same (solvent) ligands as a ‘baseline’. In the course of these studies, hydrolysis of the aprotic solvent trimethylphosphate was found to lead to novel adducts of the dimethylphosphate (‘dmp’) ligand; the introduction of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen base ligand complexes resulted in further novel mixed ligand compounds, supplemented by a study of protonated base picrate salts. This work aims not only to establish structural ‘domains of existence’ with a concomitant consideration of the associated stereochemistry for these related series of rare earth complexes, but, also, to enhance our understanding of metal ion solvation and the interactions of aromatic groups within these types of crystal structures.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Publication statusUnpublished - 2006

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Structural systematics of complexes of lanthanoid picrates with unidentate O-donor ligands and other related arrays'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this