Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)
Published on: December 29, 2016
Homoleptic 1-D iron selenolate complexes-synthesis, structure, magnetic and thermal behaviour of (1)(∞)[Fe(SeR)2]
Andreas Eichhöfer1, Gernot Buth, Francesco Dolci
1Institut für Nanotechnologie, Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Postfach 3640, Karlsruhe, 76021, Germany. andreas.eichhoefer@kit.edu
Abstract:
The first examples of polymeric homoleptic iron chalcogenolato complexes (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] and (1)(∞)[Fe(SeMes)(2)] (Ph = phenyl = C(6)H(5), Mes = mesityl = C(6)H(2)-2,4,6-(CH(3))(3)) have been both prepared by reaction of [Fe(N(SiMe(3))(2))(2)] with two equivalents of HSeR (R = Ph, Mes) while (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] was found to be also easily accessible through reactions of either FeCl(2), Fe(OOCCH(3))(2) or FeCl(3) with PhSeSiMe(3) in THF. In the crystal, the two compounds form one-dimensional chains with bridging selenolate ligands comprising distinctly different Fe-Se-Fe bridging angles, namely 71.15-72.57° in (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] and 91.80° in (1)(∞)[Fe(SeMes)(2)]. Magnetic measurements supported by DFT calculations reveal that this geometrical change has a pronounced influence on the antiferromagnetic exchange interactions of the unpaired electrons along the chains in the two different compounds with a calculated magnetic exchange coupling constant of J = -137 cm(-1) in (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] and J = -20 cm(-1) in (1)(∞)[Fe(SeMes)(2)]. In addition we were able to show that the ring molecule [Fe(SePh)(2)](12) which is a structural isomer of (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] behaves magnetically similar to the latter one. Investigations by powder XRD reveal that the ring molecule is only a metastable intermediate which converts in THF completely to form (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)]. Thermal gravimetric analysis of (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] under vacuum conditions shows that the compound is thermally labile and already starts to decompose above 30 °C in a two step process under cleavage of SePh(2) to finally form at 250 °C tetragonal PbO-type FeSe. The reaction of (1)(∞)[Fe(SePh)(2)] with the Lewis base 1,10-phenanthroline yielded, depending on the conditions, the octahedral monomeric complexes [Fe(SePh)(2)(1,10-phen)(2)] and [Fe(1,10-phen)(3)][Fe(SePh)(4)].
Related Concept Videos
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...
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...
Valence Bond Theory
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Crystal 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...

