Electronic Structures of Kryptates and Xenates

Abstract

THE recent preparation of kryptates1 and xenates2 by Grosse et al. opens a new chapter in rare-gas chemistry. Up to now the compounds that have been made have presented no new problems in chemical bonding; no problems that were not already present in the chemistry of iodine and tellurium, etc. Most of the fluorine and oxygen compounds of xenon that have been prepared have isoelectronic analogues in the chemistry of iodine, for example, XeF6(IF6−), XeF4(IF4−), XeF2(ICl2−), XeO3 (IO3−) and XeO64−(IO65−). Xenates based on XeO66− are therefore a new type of compound. Similarly krypton forms KrO3(BrO3−), but kryptates (KrO4−−, KrO66−?) have no isoelectronic counterparts.