Affiliation:
1. Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7015, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Abstract
This chapter summarizes the experimentally reported structures of hydrated and solvated metal ions in solution and the solid state. The oxygen donor solvents dimethylsulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N′-dimethylpropyleneurea and the nitrogen donor solvents acetonitrile and liquid ammonia have been selected because a relatively large number of solvate structures, in both the solid state and solution, have been reported. Their bonding characteristics are fairly different and can therefore act as models for a wide range of solvents. N,N′-Dimethylpropyleneurea is selected as it is space-demanding upon coordination forcing many metal ions to adopt lower coordination numbers than for most oxygen donor solvents. The physico-chemical impact of a lower coordination number with low symmetry is discussed. Liquid ammonia is representative for solvents with a strong electron-pair donor ability, and the impact on the coordination chemistry is discussed.
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry