An EXAFS investigation of the Lewis acids zirconium tetrachloride and cyclopentadienylzirconium trichloride in tetrahydrofuran solutions

Abstract

AbstractThe 1:2 Lewis adducts of zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4) and cyclopentadienylzirconium trichloride (CpZrCl3) with tetrahydrofuran (THF) have been studied in solutions by means of X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. The organometallic complex CpZrCl3(THF)2 has in THF solution a structure similar to the known crystallographic solid state structure. In solution the average zirconium‐carbon distance is 0.06 Å longer, and the average Zr‐oxygen distance as well as the average Zr‐chlorine distance are 0.05 Å shorter than in the solid state. In the inorganic complex ZrCl4(THF)2 the zirconium‐oxygen distance is short (2.22 Å), and the trans influence difference between chloride and tetrahydrofuran ligands gives two experimentally separable zirconium‐chlorine distances (2.39 Å and 2.49 Å).