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Multiple bonding between atoms is of ongoing fundamental and applied interest. Here, we report a multinuclear (1H, 13C, and 71Ga) solid-state magnetic resonance spectroscopic study of digallium compounds which have been proposed, albeit somewhat controversially, to contain single, double, and triple Ga−Ga bonds. Of particular relevance to the nature of these bonds, we have carried out two-dimensional 71Ga J/ D-resolved NMR experiments which provide a direct measurement of J(71Ga,71Ga) spin-spin coupling constants across the gallium−gallium bonds. When placed in the context of clear-cut experimental data for analogous singly, doubly, and triply bonded carbon spin pairs or boron spin pairs, the 71Ga NMR data clearly support the notion of a different bonding paradigm in the gallium systems. Our findings are consistent with an increasing role across the purported gallane-gallene-gallyne series for classical and/or slipped π-type bonding orbitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the understanding of intermolecular interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, is relatively well-developed, many additional weak interactions work both in tandem and competitively to stabilize a given crystal structure. Due to a wide array of potential applications, a substantial effort has been invested in understanding the halogen bond. Here, we explore the utility of multinuclear (13C, 14/15N, 19F, and 127I) solid-state magnetic resonance experiments in characterizing the electronic and structural changes which take place upon the formation of five halogen-bonded co-crystalline product materials. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) structures of three novel co-crystals which exhibit a 1:1 stoichiometry between decamethonium diiodide (i.e., [(CH3)3N+(CH2)10N+(CH3)3][2 I−]) and different para-dihalogen-substituted benzene moieties (i.e., p-C6X2Y4, X=Br, I; Y=H, F) are presented. 13C and 15N NMR experiments carried out on these and related systems validate sample purity, but also serve as indirect probes of the formation of a halogen bond in the co-crystal complexes in the solid state. Long-range changes in the electronic environment, which manifest through changes in the electric field gradient (EFG) tensor, are quantitatively measured using 14N NMR spectroscopy, with a systematic decrease in the 14N quadrupolar coupling constant ( CQ) observed upon halogen bond formation. Attempts at 127I solid-state NMR spectroscopy experiments are presented and variable-temperature 19F NMR experiments are used to distinguish between dynamic and static disorder in selected product materials, which could not be conclusively established using solely XRD. Quantum chemical calculations using the gauge-including projector augmented-wave (GIPAW) or relativistic zeroth-order regular approximation (ZORA) density functional theory (DFT) approaches complement the experimental NMR measurements and provide theoretical corroboration for the changes in NMR parameters observed upon the formation of a halogen bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct insight into the elusive nature of multiple bonding between gallium atoms in molecular solids is obtained with ultrahigh ‐ field two ‐ dimensional 71Ga NMR spectroscopy. The gallium – gallium J couplings offer a novel perspective on the electronic structure of these bonds, and the intriguing results are discussed in the context of analogous data for carbon−carbon and boron−boron spin pairs. Cover designed by L. Kobera; background photograph courtesy of V. Terskikh. More information can be found in the Full Paper by D. L. Bryce et al. on page 9565 ff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]