• DOI:10.1126/science.145.3638.1305
• Corpus ID: 29700317

Mononuclear and Polynuclear Chemistry of Rhenium (III): Its Pronounced Homophilicity

@article{Cotton1964MononuclearAP,
  title={Mononuclear and Polynuclear Chemistry of Rhenium (III): Its Pronounced Homophilicity},
  author={F. Albert Cotton and Neil F. Curtis and Charles Bonner Harris and B. F. G. Johnson and Stephen J. Lippard and Joel T. Mague and William R. Robinson and John S. Wood},
  journal={Science},
  year={1964},
  volume={145},
  pages={1305 - 1307}
}

• F. Cotton, N. F. Curtis, +5 authors J. Wood
• Published 18 September 1964
• Chemistry
• Science

Extensive chemical, spectrophotometric, and x-ray structural studies have shown that trivalent rhenium is strongly homophilic—that is, it tends to form bonds to other Re111 atoms—and it forms at least three different series of [ReX4]nn- complexes. The mononuclear, square complex, [ReBr4]-, adds two water molecules to give trans-[ReBr4(H2O)2]-. The binuclear complexes [Re2Cl8]2- and [Re2Br8]2- have strong Re-Re bonds, unsupported by halide bridges. The trinuclear species, [Re3X12]3- or Re3X9L3, contain the triangular Re3X9 clusters. Use of ReCI3 appears always to lead directly to products containing Re3Cl9; this unit exists in ReCl3 itself and does not appear to be kinetically labile. The [Re2X8]2- ions are obtained by reduction of ReO4- in aqueous HCl or HBr. Salts of [ReBr4(H2O)2]- can be obtained directly from solutions of ReBr3 in HBr along with numerous other compounds, some containing trinuclear clusters.