Chloroaluminate ionic liquids as reagents for isolating soluble hexanuclear zirconium halide cluster compounds.
Ambient-temperature chloroaluminate molten salts, mixtures of aluminum trichloride (AlCl3) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (ImCl), have been used as solvents to excise and isolate centered hexanuclear zirconium halide clusters from their solid-state precursors. Cluster compounds synthesized via high-temperature reactions, KZr6CCl15 and Li2Zr6MnCl15, were dissolved into basic molten salts at 100-110 degrees C. The C-centered cluster compound, Im4Zr6CCl18, was isolated in 70% yield, and the Mn-centered cluster compound, Im5Zr6MnCl18.C7H(8).2CH3CN, was isolated in 54% yield. Im5Zr6BCl18 is efficiently oxidized by ferrocenium tetrafluoroborate, and one-electron-oxidized B-centered cluster, [(Zr6B)Cl18]4-, was isolated in 90% yield as the salt Im4Zr6BCl18.
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Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, P.O. Box 30012, College Station, Texas 77843-3012, USA.
Hughbanks
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