{"id":23588,"date":"2021-05-08T15:10:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ch.imperial.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=23588"},"modified":"2021-05-16T10:00:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-16T09:00:44","slug":"two-new-reality-based-suggestions-for-molecules-with-a-metal-m%e2%a9%b8c-quadruple-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=23588","title":{"rendered":"Two new reality-based suggestions for molecules with a metal M\u2a78C quadruple bond."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"kcite-section\" kcite-section-id=\"23588\">\n<p>Following from much discussion over the last decade about the nature of C<sub>2<\/sub>, a diatomic molecule which some have suggested sustains a quadruple bond between the two carbon atoms, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.imperial.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=22971\">new ideas<\/a> are now appearing for molecules in which such a bond may also exist between carbon and a transition metal atom. A suggested, albeit hypothetical example was C\u2a78Fe(CO)<sub>3<\/sub><span id=\"cite_ITEM-23588-0\" name=\"citation\"><a href=\"#ITEM-23588-0\">[1]<\/a><\/span>. Iron has a\u00a0[<strong>Ar<\/strong>].<strong>3d<\/strong><sup>6<\/sup>.<strong>4s<\/strong><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0electronic configuration and if we ionise to balance a C<sup>4-<\/sup> ligand, the iron becomes formally Fe<sup>VI<\/sup> or [<strong>Ar<\/strong>].<strong>3d<\/strong><sup>4<\/sup>. By adding 14 electrons deriving from the seven &#8220;bonds&#8221; to the <strong>3d<\/strong><sup>4<\/sup>,\u00a0including a quadruple count from carbon, the Fe formally completes its 18-electron valence shell, as also found in <em>e.g.<\/em> Ferrocene.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L3FeC.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-23591\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L3FeC.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A search for crystal structures containing the very simple query structure shown below, where C is defined as having one atom only attached, TR is any transition metal and the structure is non-polymeric, was undertaken to see if any examples of this motif might already exist.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-702.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23592\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-702-300x63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"63\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-702-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-702.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Zero hits with 4-coordinate metal atoms, but <strong>11<\/strong>\u00a0real examples were found (FAIR DOI <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.14469\/hpc\/8190\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10.14469\/hpc\/8190<\/a>), all of which exhibit a five-coordinate transition metal centre, where X is a mono-anionic ligand (CN, halogen, etc) and L is a neutral ligand (PR<sub>3<\/sub> etc). The most common metal was M = Ru, the electronic configuration of which is [<strong>Kr<\/strong>].<strong>4d<\/strong><sup>7<\/sup><strong>5s<\/strong><sup>1<\/sup>, becoming [<strong>Kr<\/strong>].<strong>4d<\/strong><sup>2<\/sup> by ionising to balance a C<sup>4-<\/sup> ligand and the two X<sup>&#8211;<\/sup> ligands. There are now 16 electrons from the eight &#8220;bonds&#8221; surrounding the atom, including again a quadruple one from the carbon and forming a filled 18-electron valence shell around the metal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So could these 11 constitute known examples of quadruple bonds from a transition metal to carbon? I will investigate using M=Ru, L = PH<sub>3<\/sub> and X = CN<sup>&#8211;<\/sup>, which represents a simplified form of one of the 11 examples<span id=\"cite_ITEM-23588-1\" name=\"citation\"><a href=\"#ITEM-23588-1\">[2]<\/a><\/span> using the following electronic model: \u03c9B97XD\/Def2-SVPD. The focus will be on five localised NBO orbitals (the procedure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.imperial.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=22971\">I used previously<\/a> to count the number of bonds at carbon\u00a0for C\u2a78Fe(CO)<sub>3<\/sub>).<\/p>\n<p>For M=Ru, the NBOs emerge as follows (click on any orbital thumbnail to convert to a 3D rotatable model).<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\">M=Ru, r = 1.624\u00c5.<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>NBO 42, Occupied, Non-bonding d-orbital<\/th>\n<th>NBO 41 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo42.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo42.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c1');\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo42.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo41.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo41.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c2');\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo41.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>NBO 36 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<th>NBO 35 \u03c3 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo36.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo36.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c3');\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo36.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo35.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo35.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c4');\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo35.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"1\">NBO 34 non-bonding carbon lone pair<\/th>\n<th>Overlap of orbitals 42 and 34<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([400,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo34.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo34.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c5');\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo34.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td> <img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo42.xyz;isosurface color yellow green wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo42.jvxl;isosurface append color red blue wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ru_mo34.jvxl;zoom 140;','c20');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-708.jpg\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This reveals only a triple Ru\u2261C bond plus a non-bonding lone pair on carbon. It turns out that bonding &sigma;-orbital <strong>34<\/strong>\u00a0is &#8220;surrounded&#8221; by the non-bonding Ru d-orbital 42. The electron-electron repulsions between the pair causes the electrons in orbital <strong>34<\/strong> to locate onto the carbon to form a non-bonding lone pair, as thus:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-triple.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-triple.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So might it be possible to persuade this carbon lone pair to instead donate into the M-C bond to form that fully-fledged quadruple bond?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23610\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One simple strategy is to remove the two electrons in orbital <strong>42<\/strong>, preventing the Pauli repulsions from occuring and this can be done by using Mo instead of Ru.<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"4\">M=Mo, r = 1.673\u00c5<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>NBO 42 unoccupied Non-bonding d-orbital<\/th>\n<th>NBO 41 \u03c3 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo42.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo42.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c6');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo42.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo41.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo41.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c7');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo41.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>NBO 40 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<th>NBO 39 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo40.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo40.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c8');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo40.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo39.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo39.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c9');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo39.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\">NBO 22 \u03c3 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\"><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([400,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo22.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo22.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c10');\"\nclass=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mo_mo22.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>By removing the repulsions to the non-bonding d-orbital, we have now transformed the erstwhile carbon lone pair into a fully fledged bond as in orbital <strong>22<\/strong>, thus forming the quadruple motif. There are two electrons less, so this time the Mo valence shell is a 16-electron system.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">So, <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">SUGGESTION 1<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad-Mo.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad-Mo.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The second possibility is to increase the size of the non-bonding d-orbital <strong>42<\/strong> by changing from Ru to Os. Here again, orbital <strong>22<\/strong> is less repelled by the electrons in orbital <strong>42<\/strong> due to the larger size of the latter and so can again become C-Os bonding rather than non-bonding carbon lone pair.<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"4\">M=Os, r = 1.679\u00c5<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>NBO 42 Occupied Non-bonding d-orbital<\/th>\n<th>NBO 41 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo42.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo42.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c11');\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo42.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo41.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo41.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c12');\"  class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo41.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>\nNBO 40 \u03c3 bond <\/th>\n<th>\nNBO 35 \u03c0 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo40.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo40.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c13');\"  class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo40.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td>\n<img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([200,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo35.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo35.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c14');\"  class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo35.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"2\">NBO 22 \u03c3 bond<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" onclick=\"jmolApplet([400,200],'load wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo22.xyz;isosurface wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo22.jvxl;zoom 100;spin +3;','c15');\"   class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Os_mo22.png\" alt=\"\"  height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">So, SUGGESTION 2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad-Os.svg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23630\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/L2X2TM-C-quad-Os.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This approach also reveals the binary decision in the NBO analysis, either an orbital is classified as &#8220;LP&#8221; and hence is not considered a bond, or it is classified as &#8220;BD&#8221; and is a bond. Reality is certainly more nuanced, with weights needing to be assigned to each valence bond representation (rather than just 1.0 or 0.0). Probably also these weights will depend on a number of factors, such as basis set quality and the method applied (e.g. the DFT procedure used). So the binary terms &#8220;triple&#8221; or &#8220;quadruple&#8221; do not carry the full measure of the bonding behaviour, which may be a continuum between these two extremes. But the two molecules shown above do represent molecules that could be realistically synthesized, since they are but small variations of already known molecules. Once made, they could then be subjected to appropriate experimental analysis to test the bonding hypotheses made here.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This post has DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/gbq3<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>References<\/h2>\n    <ol class=\"kcite-bibliography csl-bib-body\"><li id=\"ITEM-23588-0\">A.J. Kalita, S.S. Rohman, C. Kashyap, S.S. Ullah, and A.K. Guha, \"Transition metal carbon quadruple bond: viability through single electron transmutation\", <i>Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics<\/i>, vol. 22, pp. 24178-24180, 2020. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1039\/d0cp03436c\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1039\/d0cp03436c<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"ITEM-23588-1\">T.J. Morsing, A. Reinholdt, S.P.A. Sauer, and J. Bendix, \"Ligand Sphere Conversions in Terminal Carbide Complexes\", <i>Organometallics<\/i>, vol. 35, pp. 100-105, 2015. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acs.organomet.5b00803\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acs.organomet.5b00803<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<\/div> <!-- kcite-section 23588 -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following from much discussion over the last decade about the nature of C2, a diatomic molecule which some have suggested sustains a quadruple bond between the two carbon atoms, new ideas are now appearing for molecules in which such a bond may also exist between carbon and a transition metal atom. A suggested, albeit hypothetical [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":5,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1745,4],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2661],"class_list":["post-23588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crystal_structure_mining","category-interesting-chemistry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two new reality-based suggestions for molecules with a metal M\u2a78C quadruple bond. - Henry Rzepa&#039;s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=23588\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two new reality-based suggestions for molecules with a metal M\u2a78C quadruple bond. - Henry Rzepa&#039;s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following from much discussion over the last decade about the nature of C2, a diatomic molecule which some have suggested sustains a quadruple bond between the two carbon atoms, new ideas are now appearing for molecules in which such a bond may also exist between carbon and a transition metal atom. 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I had previously mooted that the Fe\u2a78C combination might be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;crystal_structure_mining&quot;","block_context":{"text":"crystal_structure_mining","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?cat=1745"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-703-1024x818.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23777,"url":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=23777","url_meta":{"origin":23588,"position":1},"title":"A suggestion for a molecule with a M\u2a78C quadruple bond with trigonal metal coordination.","author":"Henry Rzepa","date":"May 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The proposed identification of molecules with potential metal to carbon quadruple bonds, in which the metal exhibits trigonal bipyramidal coordination rather than the tetrahedral modes which have been proposed in the literature,, leads on to asking whether simple trigonal coordination at the metal can also sustain this theme? The rational\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interesting chemistry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interesting chemistry","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22971,"url":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=22971","url_meta":{"origin":23588,"position":2},"title":"A new example of a quadruple bond from carbon &#8211; to Fe.","author":"Henry Rzepa","date":"November 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Way back in 2010, I was writing about an experience I had just had during an organic chemistry tutorial, which morphed into speculation as to whether a carbon atom might sustain a quadruple bond to nitrogen. A decade on, and possibly approaching 100 articles by many authors on the topic,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interesting chemistry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interesting chemistry","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/NMn_33a-1024x839.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9973,"url":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=9973","url_meta":{"origin":23588,"position":3},"title":"A (very) short history of shared-electron bonds.","author":"Henry Rzepa","date":"March 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The concept of a shared electron bond and its property of an order is almost 100 years old in modern form, when G. N. Lewis suggested a model for single and double bonds that involved sharing either 2 or 4 electrons between a pair of atoms. We tend to think\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interesting chemistry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interesting chemistry","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"Click for  3D","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ch.imperial.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/PYRDRE.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8048,"url":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=8048","url_meta":{"origin":23588,"position":4},"title":"Trimethylenemethane Ruthenium benzene","author":"Henry Rzepa","date":"October 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Every once in a while, one encounters a molecule which instantly makes an interesting point. Thus Ruthenium is ten electrons short of completing an 18-electron shell, and it can form a complex with benzene on one face and a ligand known as trimethylenemethane on the other. This four-carbon molecule has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interesting chemistry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interesting chemistry","link":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ch.imperial.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/JODLIX.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10733,"url":"https:\/\/www.ch.ic.ac.uk\/rzepa\/blog\/?p=10733","url_meta":{"origin":23588,"position":5},"title":"Is dicarbon (C2) a molecule of chemical interest?","author":"Henry Rzepa","date":"July 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"C2\u00a0(dicarbon) is certainly interesting from a theoretical point of view. Whether or not it can be described as having a quadruple bond has induced much passionate discussion,,,. Its occurrence in space and in flames is also well-known. But does it have what might be called a conventional chemistry? 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