Structural chemistry of triorganotin fluorides. The crystal structure of tricyclohexyltin fluoride revisited

Abstract

The crystal structure of tricyclohexyltin fluoride has been redetermined to be polymeric. The compound crystallizes in the trigonal P3c1 space group with a= 11.103(2), c= 8.708(1)Å and Z= 2. The Sn–F–Sn bridges are linear and asymmetric with Sn–F distances of 2.051(10) and 2.303(10)Å. These distances are rationalised in terms of the structure-correlation method which assumes bond-order conservation and Pauling's relationship between bond length and bond order. The polymeric structure is consistent with the physical properties of Sn(C₆H₁₁)₃F and variable-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopic data. It is proposed that, for rod-polymeric triorganotin fluorides, the repeat distance can give information about the Sn–F distances.