Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
Anions derived from squaric acid form interionic pi-stack and layered, hydrogen-bonded superstructures with
1Dipartimento di Chimica G. Ciamician, Universita di Bologna, Italy. dbraga@ciam.unibo.it
Abstract:
Depending on the stoichiometric ratio, squaric acid (3,4-dihydroxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione, H2SQA) reacts with [(eta6-C6H6)2Cr] in THF to form the crystalline material [(eta6-C6H6)2Cr][HSQA] (1) and in water to yield [[(eta6-C6H6)2Cr]2][SQA] x 6H2O (3); it also reacts with [(eta5-C5H5)2Co][OH] in water to form [[(eta5-C5H5)2Co]2][SQA] x 6H2O (4). Compound 1 is almost isostructural with the previously reported salt [(eta5-C5H5)2Co][HSQA] (2); its structure is based on pi-pi stacks between the benzene ligands and the hydrogen squarate anionic chains (pi-pi distance 3.375 A). Compounds 3 and 4 are isomorphous and have a structure in which layers of organometallic cations intercalate with layers of water molecules hydrogen bonded to squarate dianions. All crystals contain charge-assisted C-Hdelta+...Odelta- hydrogen bonds between the organometallic and the organic components, while negative O-H(-)...O(-) and O-H...O(2-) interactions are present in the pairs 1/3 and 2/4, respectively. In constrast to most organic salts of [(eta6-C6H6)2Cr]+ and [(eta5-C5H5)2Co]+ which are yellow, crystals of compounds 1-4 are orange. Reflectance spectra measured on the crystalline material 1 show the presence of an intense tail that can be assigned to a charge-transfer transition through the [(eta6-C6H6)2Cr]+/[HSQA]- pi-stacking interactions, while the pi stacking in 2 causes only a broadening of the band. The magnetic behaviour of 1 and 3 has been investigated by SQUID magnetometry. Both compounds are characterised by a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between the S=1/2 Cr centres of the [(eta6-C6H6)2Cr]+ cations, which is significantly stronger in 1 due to the pi-stacking with the HSQA- anions.
Related Concept Videos
03:34Ionic Compounds: Formulas and Nomenclature
02:48Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
02:42Valence Bond Theory
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
02:46Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...