Insight into the mechanism of the protonation of cryptand 222 within a liquid clathrate medium: synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of [H3O][222–2H][(CoCl3)2(µ-Cl)]

Abstract

The reaction of CoCl₂·6H₂O with cryptand 222 in the presence of HCl(g) in toluene yields a two-phase liquid clathrate solution from which the complex [H₃O][222–2H][(CoCl₃)₂(µ-Cl)] is isolated; the crystal structure exhibits an oxonium ion which is situated to one side of the [222–2H]²⁺ dication and interacts with two of its ethereal chains via O⁺-H⋯O hydrogen bonds which lends a measure of support for the proposed mechanism of protonation of this flexible macrobicycle.