Chemists from Freiburg have succeeded in converting polynuclear transition metal carbonyls into their homoleptic complex cations using typical inorganic oxidants. In their work, the research team of Malte Sellin, Christian Friedmann and Prof. Dr. Ingo Krossing from the Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry and Maximilian Mayländer and Sabine Richert from the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Freiburg show that the anthracene derivative with a half-step potential of 1.42 Volts vs. Fc0/+ can be converted to the radical de-electronating salt by a nitrosonium salt.
Perhaloanthracene radical cations deelectronize trimetal dodecacarbonyls under carbon monoxide pressure to form the first clustered transition metal cations. Credit: Provided by the research group "We have thus pushed the frontier of fundamental research in coordination chemistry as well as in organometallic chemistry a bit further," Krossing said. The research group published their findings in the journal Chemical Science. De-electronator made from commercial chemical In order to gain access to the hitherto almost unknown class of clustered transition metal carbonyl cations, chemists at the University of Freiburg have been looking for a way to ionize substrates without triggering undesired side reactions. During ionization, a neutral molecule loses one or more electrons. As a result, a positively charged molecule, also called a cation, is formed. An "innocent de-electronator" is an ionizing agent that only accepts electrons from the substrate and otherwise shows no other undesirable reactivities. Since the only innocent de-electronator known to date, a…