The disproportionation reaction of a metastable Sn(I) chloride solution, obtained via the preparative co-condensation technique, is used for the synthesis of a metalloid tin cluster compound.
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Method Article
The disproportionation reaction of a metastable Sn(I) chloride solution, obtained via the preparative co-condensation technique, is used for the synthesis of a metalloid tin cluster compound.
The number of well-characterized metalloid tin clusters, synthesized by applying the disproportionation of a metastable Sn(I) halide in the presence of a sterically demanding ligand, has increased in recent years. The metastable Sn(I) halide is synthesized at "outer space conditions" via the preparative co-condensation technique. Thereby, the subhalide is synthesized in an oven at high temperatures, around 1,300 °C, and at reduced pressure by the reaction of elemental tin with hydrogen halide gas (e.g., HCl). The subhalide (e.g., SnCl) is trapped within a matrix of an inert solvent, like toluene at -196 °C. Heating the solid matrix to -78 °C gives a metastable solution of the subhalide. The metastable subhalide solution is highly reactive but can be stored at -78 °C for several weeks. On heating the solution to room temperature, a disproportionation reaction occurs, leading to elemental tin and the corresponding dihalide. By applying bulky ligands like Si(SiMe3)3, the intermediate metalloid cluster compounds can be trapped before complete disproportionation to elemental tin. Hence, the reaction of a metastable Sn(I)Cl solution with Li-Si(SiMe3)3 gives [Sn10(Si(SiMe3)3)4]2- 1 as black crystals in high yield. 1 is formed via a complex reaction sequence including salt metathesis, disproportionation, and degradation of larger clusters. Further, 1 can be analyzed by various methods like NMR or single crystal X-ray structure analysis.
Due to recent progress in the field of nanotechnology, the nanoscale size range between molecules and the solid state became more and more important and is the focus of various research efforts1. Research with nanoscaled compounds is especially of interest for metals or semimetals, as drastic changes take place during the transformation from small molecular species (e.g., oxides, halides: non-conducting; e.g., AlCl3, AuCl3, GeO2, etc.) to metalloid clusters2 of the general formulae MnRm (n>m; M = metal such as Al, Au, Sn, etc.; R = ligand such as S-C6H4-COOH, N(SiMe3)2, etc.), to the final bulk elemental phase (metal: conducting; semimetal: semiconducting; e.g., elemental Al, Au, or Ge)3.
The synthesis of a definite molecular nanoscaled compound is challenging due to its metastable character. Many synthetic procedures give metal nanoparticles with a certain size distribution4, meaning a mixture of metalloid cluster compounds of different sizes. Consequently, to establish a basis for a structure-property relationship of nanoscaled materials, synthetic procedures must be developed to access definite nanoscaled molecular compounds. These definite molecular compounds (metalloid clusters in the case of metals5,6,7,8) will shed light on the complexity and the fundamental principles of deceptively simple chemistry, such as the dissolution and the formation of metals9.
One synthetic route to access metalloid clusters of various metals starts from the reduction of stable precursors that are reduced to form a metalloid cluster, mostly in low yield (e.g., metalloid group 14 clusters like Sn15(DippNSiMe3)6 (Dipp = 2,6-iPr2-C6H3)10, Pb10(Hyp)6 (Hyp = Si(SiMe3)3)11, or Ge5(CH(SiMe3)2)412). Additionally, an increasing number of metalloid clusters of coinage metals are synthesized via the reduction of precursors in the presence of a trapping ligand like [Ag44(p-MBA)30]4- (p-MBA = p-mercaptobenzoic acid)13 and Au102(p-MBA)4414. Beside the synthetic route of applying the reductive dehalogenation, Schnöckel et al. introduced a synthetic route to metalloid group 13 clusters by applying the disproportionation reaction of highly reactive metastable monohalides of the corresponding element (e.g., 3AlCl → 2Al + AlCl3).
The synthesis of the needed monohalides is thereby performed via a preparative co-condensation technique, where at high temperatures, gas-phase molecules of AlX and GaX (X = Cl, Br, I) are synthesized and afterwards trapped in a matrix of frozen solvents (Figure 1)15. This technique thus gives access to novel reagents, opening the way to novel areas of chemistry (e.g., starting from the metastable monohalides, metalloid clusters with diameters in the nanometer range like [Al77(N(SiMe3)2)20]2- or [Ga84(N(SiMe3)2)20]4- could be obtained)16,17.
The synthetic route via the disproportionation reaction is thus the most productive, leading to clusters with diameters in the nanometer range. However, this synthetic route is only possible if a metastable subhalide is at hand that disproportionates at low temperatures (normally far below 0 °C). Again, in the case of group 14, monohalides are needed, as the subvalent dihalides MX2 (M = Ge, Sn, Pb) are too stable and disproportionate at temperatures well above 100 °C. The synthesis of metastable group 14 monohalide solutions is possible via the preparative co-condensation technique. However, group 14 monohalides are obtained at much higher temperatures with respect to the group 13 monohalides, which are readily available as gas phase species at 1,000 °C. Hence, SnBr is obtained in maximum yield at 1,250 °C18, whereas GeBr19, as well as SiCl220, are obtained at even higher temperatures, up to 1,600 °C. The monohalides are "trapped" via a preparative co-condensation technique (Figure 1), leading to metastable monohalide solutions. Starting from these metastable solutions, we were recently able to synthesize a variety of novel metalloid group 14 cluster compounds of germanium and tin, namely [Li(thf)2]3[Ge14(Hyp)5] (Hyp = Si(SiMe)3)21, Sn10(Hyp)622, and {[Li([12]crown-4)2]}2 [Sn10(Hyp)4]23. Here, we present the synthesis of a metastable Sn(I)Cl solution within a homemade co-condensation apparatus and describe its reactivity with LiHyp to give the metalloid cluster [Sn10(Hyp)4]2- 1 in high yield.
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CAUTION! Please consult all relevant material safety data sheets (MSDS) before use. Several of the chemicals used in these syntheses are acutely toxic, pyrophoric, and carcinogenic. Nanomaterials may have additional hazards compared to their bulk counterpart. Please use all appropriate safety practices when performing a reaction, including the use of engineering controls (fume hood and glovebox) and personal protective equipment (safety glasses, gloves, lab coat, full length pants, and closed-toe shoes). Portions of the following procedures involve standard air-free Schlenk techniques. The co-condensation apparatus applied contains a 20 kW high-frequency generator. People with a cardiac pacemaker can have strictly no admittance. Gaseous HCl is highly corrosive. Store in a well-ventilated place or in a fume hood. Liquid nitrogen and dry ice are extremely cold substances; special gloves must be used to prevent frostbite.
1. Preliminary Work
2. Set up the Co-condensation Apparatus
3. Co-condensation Reaction
4. Synthesis of Sn10(Hyp)42-
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The principle of the matrix isolation technique in conjugation with the preparative co-condensation technique is shown (Figure 1), as well as the setup of the co-condensation apparatus (Figure 2) and the graphite reactor (Figure 3). Figures 4 and 5 show photos of the assembly of the co-condensation apparatus. In Figure 6, the gas supply components with the mass flow controller are shown. ...
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By applying the preparative co-condensation technique (Figure 1)25, novel materials based on molecules like SnBr are obtained. Due to the high flexibility in temperature, pressure, metal, and reactive gas, a large variety of metastable solutions of high reactive species can be synthesized. For example, subhalides of silicon and germanium are already obtained in this way. However, finding the right conditions to obtain a metastable solution for further synthesis is not trivial, and the solution...
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The authors do not declare any conflicts of interest.
We are grateful to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financial support, and we thank Dr. Daniel Werner for helpful discussions.
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| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tin, 99.999% | ABCR | AB122397 | |
| Hydrogen chloride N28, 99.8% | Air Liquide | P0820S10R0A001 | Toxic |
| Toluene anhydrous, 99.8% | Sigma Aldrich | 244511 | |
| Tri-n-butylphosphine, >93.5% | Sigma Aldrich | 90827 | Toxic |
| TMEDA, >99.5% | Sigma Aldrich | 411019 | |
| 12-crown-4 | Sigma Aldrich | 194905 | Toxic |
| THF anhydrous, >99.9% | Sigma Aldrich | 401757 | |
| Sodium, 99.95% | Sigma Aldrich | 262715 | |
| Benzophenone, >99% | Sigma Aldrich | 427551 | |
| Differential pressure manometer | MKS | MKS Baratron 223B | |
| Mass flow controller | Bronckhorst | Low Δp flow mass flow controller | |
| High frequency generator | Trumpf Hüttinger | TruHeat MF 5020 | |
| NMR spectrometer | Bruker | Bruker DRX-250 | |
| Glovebox | GS Systemtechnik | ||
| Argon 5.0 | Westfalen | ||
| Nitrogen 4.8 | Westfalen | ||
| Graphite | SGL | ||
| Quartz glass tube | Gebr. Rettberg GmbH | ||
| Steel transferring cannula | Rohre Ketterer | ||
| Balance | Kern | Kern PFB200-3 | |
| Oil diffusion pump | Balzers | Balzers Diff900 | |
| Rotary vane pump | Balzers | Balzers QK100L4D | |
| Pyrometer | Sensotherm | 6285 | |
| Schlenk tubes with glassy stopcocks | Gebr. Rettberg GmbH | J.-Young-type valve with glassy stopcock |
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