Abstract
Hexacoordinated complexes are generally considered to be potentially chiral if they have at least two bidentate ligands or at lest three different monodentate ligands. Here we draw attention to a neglected general possibility, namely that homoleptic hexacoordinated complexes with molecular structures in between octahedral and trigonal prismatic, following the Bailar twisting route, are chiral, A quantitative evaluation of the degree of chirality of such hexakis(mondenlate) complexes shows that they reach maximum chirality when the trigonal rotation angle of the prism reaches 23°. Model calculations and analysis of experimental X-ray structures are in good agreement. The most chiral of the complexes with monodentate ligands that have been analyzed is [Zr(SC6H4-4-OMe)6]2-. The validity of the theoritical prediction is also corroborated by an analysis of the chirality of the coordination sphere in twisted tris(chelate) complexes.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1499-1503 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2001 |
Keywords
- Chirality
- Coordination chemistry
- Molecular symmetry
- Quantitative chirality
- Stereochemistry