A new set of covalent atomic radii has been deduced from crystallographic data for most of the elements with atomic numbers up to 96. The proposed radii show a well behaved periodic dependence that allows us to interpolate a few radii for elements for which structural data is lacking, notably the noble gases. The proposed set of radii therefore fills most of the gaps and solves some inconsistencies in currently used covalent radii. The transition metal and lanthanide contractions as well as the differences in covalent atomic radii between low spin and high spin configurations in transition metals are illustrated by the proposed radii set.

/pdf/covalent-radii-revisited-3jnedr273q.pdf

Covalent radii revisited

Strong Closed-Shell Interactions in Inorganic Chemistry.

“All new is well-forgotten old”, the proverb goes. The current “fluorine boom” is news only to a novice in the field: the exceptional importance of fluorinated organic compounds in numerous areas has been known for a long time. The sharpest increase in the number of fluorine-containing pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals is dated back to 30 years ago. Also around that time (1979), the first monograph devoted to industrial applications of organofluorine compounds was published, covering not only fluorine-containing biologically active materials but also refrigerants, propellants, surfactants, textile chemicals, polymers, and dyes. The increasingly broad realization of the key role of organofluorine compounds in numerous areas has recently attracted many new scientists to the field. The development of new methods for the selective introduction of fluorine and fluorinecontaining groups into organic molecules for biologically active and other useful materials has become a hot area. Over 100 reviews, book chapters, and highlights on this subject have appeared in the literature in the past few years. As citing all of these publications in this review article is impossible, we provide references to only the most recent, general, and comprehensive ones. Molecules bearing a trifluoromethyl group constitute one of the most important classes of selectively fluorinated compounds. As early as 1928, Lehmann reported his observations of biological activity of some trifluoromethylated organic derivatives and already in 1959 Yale published a detailed review article entitled “The Trifluoromethyl Group in Medicinal Chemistry”. Since then, numerous books and reviews have appeared in the literature covering various aspects of trifluoromethylated organic and organometallic compounds. Within this family, derivatives bearing the CF3 group on aromatic rings are particularly numerous and important. Some examples of such compounds used as active ingredients of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals are shown in Scheme 1. Trifluoromethylated building blocks and intermediates are clearly needed to make such molecules. The simplest trifluoromethylated aromatic compound, benzotrifluoride, was originally prepared by Swarts at the end of the 19th century. In his work, Swarts treated benzotrichloride with “two thirds of its weight of antimony fluoride” to obtain a mixture of PhCF2Cl and PhCF3, from which the two were separated and isolated pure by distillation. In the early 1930s, two industrial groups, one from Kinetic Chemicals, Inc. and one from I. G. Farbenindustrie AG patented their discoveries on the successful use of HF instead of SbF3 for the Swarts reaction. These inventions were the starting point for the modern large-scale manufacturing of trifluoromethylated aromatics. Other methods have been developed for conversion of various C1 units on the ring to CF3 with a variety of fluorinating agents. While representing an outstanding discovery and a classic of organic and organofluorine chemistry, the Swarts reaction is nonetheless neither atom-economical nor environmentally benign, as it deals with stoichiometric quantities of hazardous chemicals and generates large amounts of chlorine waste. To convert a CH3 group on the ring to CF3, the methyl is first exhaustively chlorinated to produce 3 equiv of HCl as a

Aromatic Trifluoromethylation with Metal Complexes

The distribution of distances from atoms of a particular element E to a probe atom X (oxygen in most cases), both bonded and intermolecular non-bonded contacts, has been analyzed. In general, the distribution is characterized by a maximum at short E⋯X distances corresponding to chemical bonds, followed by a range of unpopulated distances – the van der Waals gap – and a second maximum at longer distances – the van der Waals peak – superimposed on a random distribution function that roughly follows a d3 dependence. The analysis of more than five million interatomic “non-bonded” distances has led to the proposal of a consistent set of van der Waals radii for most naturally occurring elements, and its applicability to other element pairs has been tested for a set of more than three million data, all of them compared to over one million bond distances.

/pdf/a-cartography-of-the-van-der-waals-territories-4rxnfp59yz.pdf

A cartography of the van der Waals territories

Energy is the most important issue of the 21st century. About 85 % of our energy comes from fossil fuels, a finite resource unevenly distributed beneath the Earth’s surface. Reserves of fossil fuels are progressively decreasing, and their continued use produces harmful effects such as pollution that threatens human health and greenhouse gases associated with global warming. Prompt global action to solve the energy crisis is therefore needed. To pursue such an action, we are urged to save energy and to use energy in more efficient ways, but we are also forced to find alternative energy sources, the most convenient of which is solar energy for several reasons. The sun continuously provides the Earth with a huge amount of energy, fairly distributed all over the world. Its enormous potential as a clean, abundant, and economical energy source, however, cannot be exploited unless it is converted into useful forms of energy. This Review starts with a brief description of the mechanism at the basis of the natural photosynthesis and, then, reports the results obtained so far in the field of photochemical conversion of solar energy. The “grand challenge” for chemists is to find a convenient means for artificial conversion of solar energy into fuels. If chemists succeed to create an artificial photosynthetic process, “… life and civilization will continue as long as the sun shines!”, as the Italian scientist Giacomo Ciamician forecast almost one hundred years ago.

Photochemical Conversion of Solar Energy

Alkane molecules are held together in the crystal state by purportedly weak homonuclear R–H···H–R dihydrogen interactions. In an apparent contradiction, the high melting points and vaporization enthalpies of polyhedranes in condensed phases require quite strong intermolecular interactions. Two questions arise: ‘How strong can a weak C–H···H–C bond be?’ and ‘How do the size and topology of the carbon skeleton affect these bonding interactions?’ A systematic computational study of intermolecular interactions in dimers of n-alkanes and polyhedranes, such as tetrahedrane, cubane, octahedrane or dodecahedrane, showed that attractive C–H···H–C interactions are stronger than usually thought. We identified factors that account for the strength of these interactions, including the tertiary nature of the carbon atoms and their low pyramidality. An alkane with a bowl shape was designed in the search for stronger dihydrogen intermolecular bonding, and a dissociation energy as high as 12 kJ mol−1 is predicted by our calculations. Intermolecular non-polar H···H interactions between polyhedrane molecules may be as attractive as classical hydrogen bonds. A theoretical study identifies the chemical and structural factors that favour such attractive interactions.

Dihydrogen contacts in alkanes are subtle but not faint

The binuclear complexes of d8 transition metal ions of type [L2M(μ-XRn)2ML2] (n = 0 to 2) show a wide variety of bending angles between the coordination planes of the two metal atoms. A theoretical and structural analysis of those compounds with unsubstituted bridges, [L2M(μ-X)2ML2], tries to unravel the factors that determine the degree of bending of such compounds. A rationale is given for the structures of 139 crystallographically independent molecules. A driving force for bending of the molecules is the attractive metal···metal interaction that results from donor−acceptor interactions between the dz2 and pz orbitals of the two metal atoms and is modulated by the nature of (a) the metal atom, (b) the terminal ligands, and (c) the bridging atoms. In all cases the energy difference between the planar and the bent form is within the 10 kcal/mol range, and steric effects seem to be important in preventing bending only for the bulkiest terminal ligands. For the studied bridging atoms, the stability of the b...

To Bend or Not To Bend: Dilemma of the Edge-Sharing Binuclear Square Planar Complexes of d8 Transition Metal Ions

To understand the dispersion stabilization of hydrocarbons in solids and of encumbered molecules, wherein CH···HC interactions act as sticky fingers, we developed here a valence bond (VB) model and applied it to analyze the H···H interactions in dimers of H2 and alkanes. The VB analysis revealed two distinct mechanisms of “dispersion.” In the dimers of small molecules like H–H···H–H and H3CH···HCH3, the stabilization arises primarily due to the increased importance of the VB structures which possess charge alternation, e.g., C+H–···H+C– and C–H+···H–C+, and hence bring about electrostatic stabilization that holds the dimer. This is consistent with the classical mechanism of oscillating dipoles as the source of dispersion interactions. However, in larger alkanes, this mechanism is insufficient to glue the two molecules together. Here, the “dispersion” interaction comes about through perturbational mixing of VB structures, which reorganize the bonding electrons of the two interacting CH bonds via recoupling...

Understanding the Nature of the CH···HC Interactions in Alkanes.

On the Bonding Nature of the M.cntdot. .cntdot. .cntdot.M Interactions in Dimers of Square-Planar Pt(II) and Rh(I) Complexes

A qualitative molecular orbital study and a structural analysis of the bonding capabilities of the metal atoms in square planar ML(4) complexes of d(8) ions are presented. In addition to analyzing the donor-acceptor properties of the metal atom in such complexes, the following aspects are also studied: (a) the effect of axial groups (bases or acids) on the donor-acceptor properties of the metal atom; (b) the effect of the axial groups on the deviation of the ML(4) ensemble from planarity; (c) the effect of an axial group on the bond between the metal atom and another group in trans; and (d) the implications on chemical reactivity.

Gabriel Aullón

Papers

Dihydrogen contacts in alkanes are subtle but not faint

To Bend or Not To Bend: Dilemma of the Edge-Sharing Binuclear Square Planar Complexes of d8 Transition Metal Ions

Understanding the Nature of the CH···HC Interactions in Alkanes.

On the Bonding Nature of the M.cntdot. .cntdot. .cntdot.M Interactions in Dimers of Square-Planar Pt(II) and Rh(I) Complexes

Axial bonding capabilities of square planar d8-ml4 complexes. theoretical study and structural correlations