Saturday, November 3, 2018

inorganic chemistry - How can the solid state structure of cyclopentadienyllithium be explained?


In the solid state, LiCp adopts a polymeric multidecker structure where Li atoms are sandwiched between two Cp rings (shown in this diagram from Organometallics 1997, 16 (17), 3855–3858):


Solid-state structure of LiCp


If we consider the η5-binding mode of the Cp rings, then it seems that the number of electrons around Li is more than eight. However, Li can't extend its octet. How can the structure and bonding be explained?




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periodic trends - Comparing radii in lithium, beryllium, magnesium, aluminium and sodium ions

Apparently the of last four, $\ce{Mg^2+}$ is closest in radius to $\ce{Li+}$. Is this true, and if so, why would a whole larger shell ($\ce{...