Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Phosphorus stabilized carbene complexes: bisphosphonate dianion synthesis, reactivity and DFT studies of O~C~O
Hadrien Heuclin1, Dan Grünstein, Xavier-Frederic Le Goff
1Laboratoire Hétéroéléments et Coordination, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, 91128, Palaiseau Cédex, France.
Abstract:
The reactivity of the geminal dianion of tetraisopropyl methylenediphosphonate, 3, with [ZrCl4(THF)2] affords a trinuclear structure 5 in which an unprecedented triscarbene-Zr dianionic fragment is found. The overall trinuclear arrangement is assembled by PO bridging moieties. The X-ray crystal structure of 5 is presented. The reaction of complex 5 with stoichiometric amounts of pyridine affords a dinuclear complex 6 whose formulation was ascertained by an X-ray crystal structure. Complexes 5 and 6 cleanly react with aldehydes (R1)(H)CO to afford the corresponding olefin of general formula [((OiPr)2P=O)2C=C(R1)(H)]. DFT calculations which were carried out on the model complex of 5t and a hypothetical monometallic Zr complex [Zr(3)Cl2(OMe2)2] 8t indicate that the Zr-C bond only features a weak pi-interaction between the carbon atom and a vacant orbital at the metal. The polarization of the orbital towards the carbon center is consistent with the observed nucleophilic character of the carbene complexes described here.
More Related Videos
08:54Synthesis and Exfoliation of Discotic Zirconium Phosphates to Obtain Colloidal Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 25, 2016
07:20Discovery and Synthesis Optimization of Isoreticular Al(III) Phosphonate-Based Metal-Organic Framework Compounds Using High-Throughput Methods
Published on: October 6, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Crystal 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,...
Carbocations
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Complexation Equilibria: Factors Influencing Stability of Complexes
Predicting Molecular Geometry