Ethene complexes of chromium; the generation and characterisation of [Cr(CO)5(C2H4)] and cis- and trans-[Cr(CO)4(C2H4)2] and their relative stabilities in liquid xenon solution
Abstract
The unstable complexes [Cr(CO)5(C2H4)] and cis- and trans-[Cr(CO)4(C2H4)2] are generated by photolysis of [Cr(CO)6] in C2H4-doped liquid xenon and are characterised by i.r. spectroscopy; these complexes are all unstable, even at -78 °C with the cis-[Cr(CO)4(C2H4)2] complex being the least stable, decomposing with an enthalpy of activation, ΔH‡, of ∼60 kJ mol–1.