Based on the determination of single crystal XRD structures of potassium hexacyanidometallates and on IR, and Raman data, here we propose for the first time the occurrence of an electron-deficient bonding between the N end of the CN- ligand and the K+ metal center. The crystal structures of Kn[M6-n(CN)6]·xH2O (M = Fe(ii), Ru(ii), Os(ii), Co(iii), Rh(iii), Ir(iii), Pt(iv)) reveal the presence of four types of CN-K interactions: (i) a linear CN-K bond, (ii) the N ends in a bipodal coordination involving two K atoms, (iii) the N ends in a tripodal coordination mode involving three K atoms and (iv) the N ends and the K atoms with the largest K-N distances within the subseries that can be attributed to the electrostatic interactions. The bi- and tripodal coordination modes between the N end of the CN- ligand and K+ ions are atypical and their nature is discussed in this contribution. The CN- ligand N end can behave as a two-electron donor that participates in a three-center two-electron bonding (i.e. Class II μ-L 3c-2e) for a N-bipodal coordination mode or as a two-electron donor that participates in a four-center two-electron bonding (4c-2e) for an N-tripodal coordination mode. Such a possibility is closely related to the π-back donation ability of the CN- ligand, which results in a charge density accumulation on the N end, which could be partially donated to the K atom through an σ-mechanism. For the divalent metals (Fe, Ru, Os), the solids crystallize with a monoclinic unit cell in the C2/c space group, while for the trivalent ones (Co, Rh, Ir), the crystal structure corresponds to an orthorhombic unit cell in the Pbcn space group. Potassium hexacyanidoplatinate(iv) crystallizes with a trigonal unit cell, in the P3[combining macron]1m space group, where each N end is always found coordinating two K atoms. The finding of these novel coordination modes of the CN- ligands, relying on an electron-deficient bonding behavior, paves the way for the design of functional materials based on hexacyanidometallates. The experimental results and the proposed electron-deficient bonding model herein discussed were appropriately supported by the computational calculations.
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