Resumen de Photochemical Preparation and Radioactivity of cis Cr(CO)4(CH3CN)2:: An Advanced Undergraduate Inorganic Laboratory Experiment

Timothy J. McNeese, Karin A. Ezbiansky

• The photochemical synthesis of a disubstituted complex, cis-Cr(CO)4(CH3CN)2, by reaction of the parent metal carbonyl, Cr(CO)6, in acetonitrile solution is reported. Subsequent reaction of this intermediate with mono- and bidentate phosphine ligands, triphenylphosphine (PPh3) and bis(diphenylphosphino)methane, Ph2PCH2PPh2 (dppm), yields the geometric isomers, trans-Cr(CO)4(PPh3)2 and cis-Cr(CO)4(dppm), respectively. The experiment employs laboratory techniques commonly used in organometallic chemistry. Dry solvent purification, vacuum-line techniques, inert atmosphere photochemical methods and infrared spectroscopic analysis are required for the preparation, handling and characterization of these compounds.