| RESEARCH |
Substituent-free gallium complex The first dinuclear metal complex bridged by a substituent-free gallium atom (shown, Ph = phenyl) has been prepared by a team led by chemistry professor Keiji Ueno of Gunma University, in Kiryu [Organometallics, 22, 4375 (2003)]. Compounds with metal-gallium multiple bonds have been extensively studied as models for chemical bonding. These complexes typically require a multicoordinate bulky organic group bound to the gallium atom for stability. In contrast to expectations, the crystal structure for the new complex reveals that the cyclopentadienyl Fe–Ga single bond (2.25 Å) is shorter than the Ga–Fe(CO)4 double bond (2.29 Å). Both Fe–Ga bonds are shorter than other metal-gallium single bonds (2.32– 2.46 Å) and are longer than the Fe–Ga triple bond (2.22 Å). This bonding picture for the complex meets the 18-electron counting rule, the researchers note, and is plausible because of the strong -basic character of the cyclopentadienyl Fe fragment, which can donate electrons to the empty p orbitals of the sp-hybridized gallium atom. |
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