Li2[SeC2Se]·2NH3: A Crystalline Ammoniate with a –Se–C≡C–Se– Dianion

Abstract

Reaction of Li2C2 with elemental selenium in a molar ratio of 1:2 in liquid ammonia led to the formation of the ammoniate Li2[SeC2Se]·2NH3. Its crystal structure was solved and refined from high-resolution synchrotron powder diffraction data (P21/c, Z = 4). It contains the -Se-C≡C-Se- anion, unprecedented in a crystalline material, whose existence was corroborated by IR/Raman spectra and electronic-structure theory, showing an almost perfect agreement with calculated spectra. Elaborated magnetic-bottle and velocity-map imaging photoelectron spectroscopic investigations show that the -Se-C≡C-Se• radical anion can be transferred to the gas phase, where it was analyzed by NIPE (Negative Ion Photoelectron) and VMI (Velocity-Map Imaging) spectra, which correlate nicely with simulated spectra based on 2Πu → 3Σg- and 2Πu → 1Σg+ transitions including spin-orbit couplings.