Alkali Metal Covalent Bonding in Nickel Carbonyl Complexes ENi(CO) 3 .

Authors :: Chi C
Pan S
Meng L
Luo M
Zhao L
Zhou M
Frenking G
Source :: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) [Angew Chem Int Ed Engl] 2019 Feb 04; Vol. 58 (6), pp. 1732-1738. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Jan 09.
Publication Year :: 2019
Abstract: The alkali metal-nickel carbonyl anions ENi(CO) <subscript>3</subscript> <superscript>-</superscript> with E=Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs have been produced and characterized by mass-selected infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the gas phase. The molecules are the first examples of 18-electron transition metal complexes with alkali atoms as covalently bonded ligands. The calculated equilibrium structures possess C <subscript>3v</subscript> geometry, where the alkali atom is located above a nearly planar Ni(CO) <subscript>3</subscript> <superscript>-</superscript> fragment. The analysis of the electronic structure reveals a peculiar bonding situation where the alkali atom is covalently bonded not only to Ni but also to the carbon atoms.<br /> (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)