THE RATE AND ACTIVATION PARAMETERS FOR THE CLEAVAGE OF THE METAL METAL BOND OF THE ANION RADICAL OF A DI-IRON CARBONYL COMPLEX

Electron transfer to [(C5H5)Fe(CO)2] 2 gives an anion radical in which the electronic configuration of one Fe no longer conforms to the '18 e' rule and which undergoes cleavage of the metal-metal bond with a rate constant equal to 1060 s-1 at 273 K and an activation energy of 15.7 kcal mol-1 (1 kcal = 4.18 kJ) in acetonitrile.