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Structure and Stability of a Copper(II) Lactate Complex in Alkaline Solution: a Case Study by Energy-Dispersive X-ray
Elisabetta Achilli1, Alberto Vertova2, Alberto Visibile2
1Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Pavia and Unita di Ricerca INSTM di Pavia , Viale Taramelli 16, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
Abstract:
Energy-dispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy was applied, aimed at solving the problem of the structure and stability of a copper(II) lactate complex in alkaline solution, used as a precursor for the electrodeposition of Cu2O. The application of multiple scattering calculations to the simulation of the X-ray absorption near-edge structure part of the spectra allowed an accurate resolution of the structure: the copper(II) cation is surrounded by four lactate ions in a distorted tetrahedral environment, with the lactate anions acting as monodentate ligands. This results in an atomic arrangement where copper is surrounded by four oxygen atoms located at quite a short distance (ca. 1.87 Å) and four oxygen atoms located quite far apart (ca. 3.1-3.2 Å). The complex was finally found to be stable in a wide range of applied potentials.
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