Liquid Ammonia: More than an Innocent Solvent for Zintl Anions
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Liquid ammonia as the original solvent for Zintl anions has been replaced by easier to handle or more versatile solvents in most recent Zintl chemistry. However, methodological advances have made it possible to structurally investigate the anions in ammoniate crystals via crystallography or in the solutions themselves via nuclear magnetic resonance. While in some cases liquid ammonia acts as an innocent solvent, it also provides different possibilities of direct involvement in chemical reactions. In addition to simple dissolution without changes to the anions observed in the solid starting materials, protonation of the anion, incongruent dissolution involving redox processes, and further oxidation and reduction products have been observed. The use of the solvent liquid ammonia under ambient pressure is limited to low temperatures, which in turn allows the monitoring of kinetically stabilized species, some of which cannot be accessed at higher temperatures. In this work, the available literature reports are summarized or referenced, and compounds that have been characterized as new ammoniate crystals are presented and contextualized. Innocent dissolution is observed for clusters involved in K 2.9 Rb 5.1 [Si 4 ][Si 9 ]·15NH 3, Cs 4 Sn 9 ·12NH 3, Cs 4 Pb 9 ·5NH 3, and [Rb@[18]crown-6] 2 [Rb@[2.2.2]crypt]Rb[Ge 9 ]·4NH 3 . Formal protonation of [Ge 4 ] 4– results in the crystallization of [Na@[2.2.2]crypt] 2 [H 2 Ge 4 ]·3NH 3 . Tt 5 2– (Tt = Sn or Pb) and HSi 9 3– cannot be accessed in a binary solid state material but can be crystallized in co-crystals of PPh 3 in [Rb@[2.2.2]crypt] 2 [Sn 5 ][PPh 3 ] 2 ·NH 3, [Rb@[2.2.2]crypt] 2 [Pb 5 ][PPh 3 ] 2 ·NH 3, and [K@[2.2.2]crypt] 3 [HSi 9 ][PPh 3 ]·5NH 3 .
Source: Inorganic Chemistry
Institution: University of Regensburg
Language: English
Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Awards: G3685333058, G88872219
OpenAlex ID: W4401441614
