Downloaded for Personal Non-Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] REDUCTION OF MOLYBDENUM AND TUNGSTEN HEXAFLUORIDES TO THE PENTAVALENT STATE. A thesis submitted to the University of Glasgow for the degree of M.Sc. in the Faculty of Science. by NASHUNMENGHE BAO Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow. November 1989, (c) Nashunmenghe ProQuest Number: 10999292 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10999292 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 -I would like to dedicate this work to my parents. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I would like to express my thanks and deep respect to my supervisors, Dr. J.M. Winfield and Professor D.W.A. Sharp for their help, guidance and encouragement throughout this work. My thanks are also due to all my fellow research colleagues, Mr. L. McGhee, Dr. J. Thomson, Dr. R.M. Siddique and others for their help and assistance. My thanks also go to Mrs. Liz Hughes for typing this thesis and the technical staff members of the Infrared Laboratory, and Glass Blowing Workshop for their help and cooperation. I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture, People's Republic of China for the scholarship awarded to me and Glasgow University for a common bursary. My wife deserves a special mention for her love and encouragement. CONTENTS. Summary CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1-1 Transition Metal Fluorides 1-2 The Preparation of Molybdenum and Tungsten Hexafluorides and Penta- Fluorides. 1-2-1 Preparation of Molybdenum and Tungsten Hexafluorides 1-2-2 Preparation of Molybdenum Penta- fluoride and Tungsten Penta- fluoride 1-3 Structure and Bonding of the Hexa- fluorides 1-3-1 The Structure 1-3-2 The Bonding 1-4 Structure of Pentafluorides 1-5 Comparisons of the Chemical Reactivity of Some Transition Metal Higher Oxidation State Fluorides. 1-5-1 Electron Affinities of MoF_ and WF,. 6 6 1-5-2 Chemical Reactivities of Hexa- fluorides. 1-5-3 Chemical Reactivities of Molybdenum and Tungsten Pentafluorides 1-6 Aim of the Present Work CHAPTER TWO Experimental Techniques 2-1 Vacuum line and Glove Box Techniques 20 2-2 Electronic Spectroscopy 21 2-3 Vibrational Spectroscopy 23 2-4 Cyclic Voltammetry 26 2-5 Magnetic Susceptibility 34 2-6 Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy 37 2-7 Purification of Solvents 39 2-8 Preparation of Molybdenum and Tungsten Hexafluorides 41 2-9 Preparation of MoF^ 44 CHAPTER THREE Reaction of Ionic Iodides with Molybdenum and Tungsten Hexafluorides. 3-1 Introduction 46 3-1-1 Lewis Acid-Base Reactions 46 3-1-2 Solvents 47 3-1-3 The Behaviour of Iodine in MeCN, CH2C12 and SC>2 50 3-1-4 Preparation of Hexafluoromolybdate(V), (IV) and Hexafluorotungstate(V) salts 52 3-2 Results and Discussion 53 3-2-1 The Reactions of MoF_ and WF_ with 6 6 Ionic Iodides in SC>2 53 3-2-2 The Reactions of MoF.. or WF,. with 6 b Ionic Iodides in CH2C12 55 3-2-3 Comparisons Among the Reactions 56 3-2-4 Reaction of Copper(I)hexafluoro- metallate (V) Salts with Bu4NI in 59 CH2C12 3-2-5 Reactions Between Bu.NMoF_ and 4 b Bu^NI in CH2C12 and S02 60 3-2-6 Reactions of MoF. Salts with 6 Ionic Iodides in Liquid SC>2 61 3-2-7 Comparisons Among the Reactions 62 3-2-8 Magnetic Measurements of Some Hexafluoromolybdate(V) Salts 63 3-3 Conclusion 67 3-4 Experimental 67 CHAPTER FOUR A study by Cyclic Voltammetry of Hexafluoromolybdate(V) and Some Ionic Iodides in Different Solvents. 4-1 Introduction 73 4-1-1 Cyclic Voltammetry of Hexa- fluoromolybdate(V) 73 4-1-2 Cyclic Voltammetry of Ionic Iodides 74 4-1-3 Electrochemistry in Liquid Sulphur Dioxide 76 4-1-4 The Present Study 76 4-2 Results and Discussion 78 4-2-1 Cyclic Voltammetric Studies in Acetonitrile 78 4-2-2 Cyclic Voltammetric Studies in Di chloromethane 80 4-2-3 Cyclic Voltammetric Studies in Liquid Sulphur Dioxide 4-2-4 Comparison Among the Three Solvents 4-3 Conclusion 4-4 Experimental CHAPTER FIVE Reactions of Molybdenum and Tungsten Hexafluorides with the Metals Mo and W in Acetonitrile. 5-1 Introduction 5-2 Results and Discussion 5-2-1 The Preparation of the Complex MoF c.NCMe D 5-2-2 Reaction of Tungsten Metal with WF. in MeCN D 5-2-3 Comparison of Infrared Spectroscopic Data 5-2-4 Reaction of Tungsten Metal with MoF, in Acetonitrile b 5-2-5 Reaction of Molybdenum Metal with WF,. in Acetonitrile b 5-2-6 The Interaction between MoF_.NCMe b and Bu^NI in CH 2 CI 2 5-2-7 The Redox Property of MoF,. .NCMe in MeCN, 5-2-8 The Reaction between CUF 2 anc^ MoF .NCMe in MeCN 5-3 Conclusion 96 5-4 Experimental 96 CHAPTER SIX Conclusions 1°1 REFERENCES 103 - i - SUMMARY This thesis presents a study of the behaviour of higher oxidation sta,te fluorides of molybdenum and tungsten towards some reducing agents, ionic iodides or Mo and W metals, in three different solvents SO^, MeCN and CH^Cl^. Chapter One summarises previous studies made of higher oxidation state transition metal fluorides, particularly those of molybdenum and tungsten. It is concerned with the preparations, structures and redox chemical behaviour under different conditions and in different solvents. Chapter Two describes the experimental techniques, for example vibrational spectroscopy or cyclic voltammetry etc., which were used to complete the present work. In Chapter Three, the redox behaviour of MF_ and MF salts 6 6 (M = Mo, W) towards ionic iodides in CH^Cl^ and SO^ is reported. The reactions between iodides and MF are quite straightforward in 6 S0_. The products are identified as MF salts on the basis of 2 6 their infrared spectra. However, in CH^Cl^, although Bu^NI is soluble and reduces MF_ readily to MF_ , the alkali metal iodides, 6 6 Nal and KI are insoluble; as a result these reactions are slow and mcomplete. The iodide Bu NI cannot reduce MF^ to MF 2- in 4 6 6 - 2- these solvents, although a mixture of MoF_ and MoF_ salts is 6 6 obtained from the reaction of an equi-molar mixture of NaMoF and 6 Nal in SO at -60°C. The reaction of [Cu(MeCN) ][MF ] and 2 4 6 Bu NI in CH Cl leads to the formation of Bu.NMoF^ and Cul. The products described in this chapter have been identified by their infrared and electronic spectra. The magnetic moments obtained oyer the temperature range from 80 K to 298 K for some MoF^. salts are discussed. In Chapter Four, the electrochemical properties of some hexafluoromolybdates and ionic iodides in the three solvents MeCN, CH^Cl^ and SO^ are described and discussed. The redox 2 - couples MoF /MoF, and MoF /MoF are compared with the couples 6 6 6 6 arising from the iodide anion by means of cyclic voltammetry. The half-wave potentials of these couples indicate that the iodide, Bu.NI can easily reduce MoF^ and WF,. to the MoF,. and WF,. anions 4 J 6 6 6 6 respectively, but the iodide has no capability of reducing MF^ 2- salts to MF salts (M = Mo, W) in MeCN and CH Cl . 6 2 2 Chapter Five deals with a study of the reduction of MF,. by 6 M metal (M = Mo, W) in MeCN. Consistent with previous work, MoFg is reduced by Mo powder at 150°C to give (MoF^)^, and (MoF^)^ reacts with MeCN to produce the complex MoFNCMe. A new improved preparation of this complex MoF .NCMe is reported. 5 Molybdenum hexafluoride is reduced by molybdenum metal in MeCN at room temperature to give MoF^.NCMe. A similar reaction occurs between WF^_ and tungsten metal in MeCN at room temperature to produce WF^.NCMe. These complexes have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy and microanalysis. The hexafluorides, MoFg and WFg are also reduced by W and Mo metals respectively in MeCN at room temperature, although definitive characterization of the products has not been achieved. Anhydrous copper(II) fluoride, CuF 2 ' reacts slowly with - iii - MoFj. .NCMe at room temperature in MeCN. The product is a 2+ soluble Cu salt. The complex MoF .NCMe also reacts with 5 Bu^NI to release small amounts of I^.