Molecular units in ionic crystals via abstraction of matrix atoms by implanted metal ions

Abstract

Abstract Heavy metal ions (*M = *Re, *Os, *Ir, *Pt) were implanted into halogen containing ionic crystals KX and K2MX6 (X = CI, Br; M = Sn, Re, Os, Ir, Pt) with energies ranging from 40 to 400 keV. They were generated via ion acceleration or recoil processes as a consequence of fast neutron capture. Optical spectroscopy and radiochemical methods were applied to analyse the chemical state of the projectiles after thermalization. Depending on the geometrical arrangement of the halogens in the different target materials up to 84% of the implanted ions were recovered in form of octahedral complexes *MX2− 6. In K2MX6 the amount of halogen ligand abstraction by *M showed a linear dependence on the relative strength of the broken M–X to that of the new *M–X bond. The beam experiments combined with low temperature optical spectroscopy proved a complex formation even for implantations at 5 K. The experiments demonstrated that implanted ions may undergo chemical reactions which are both spontaneous and selective.