| Names | |
|---|---|
| IUPAC name
Vanadocene | |
| Systematic IUPAC name
Bis(η5-cyclopentadienyl)vanadium | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.149.756 |
| EC Number |
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PubChem CID |
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| V(C5H5)2 | |
| Molar mass | 181.128 g/mol |
| Appearance | Violet crystals |
| Melting point | 167 °C (333 °F; 440 K) |
| Hazards | |
| GHS labelling: | |
| Danger | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Vanadocene, bis(η5-cyclopentadienyl) vanadium, is the organometallic compound with the formula V(C5H5)2, commonly abbreviated Cp2V. It is a violet crystalline, paramagnetic solid. Vanadocene has relatively limited practical use, but it has been extensively studied.
V(C5H5)2 is a metallocene, a class of organometallic compounds that typically have a metal ion sandwiched between two cyclopentadienyl rings. In the solid state, the molecule has D5d symmetry. The vanadium(II) center resides equidistant between the center of the two cyclopentadienyl rings at a crystallographic center of inversion. The average V-C bond distance is 226 pm. The Cp rings of vanadocene are dynamically disordered at temperatures above 170 K and are only fully ordered at 108 K.
Vanadocene was first prepared in 1954 by Birmingham, Fischer, and Wilkinson via a reduction of vanadocene dichloride with aluminum hydride, after which vanadocene was sublimed in vacuum at 100 ˚C. A modern synthesis of vanadocene that allows production in higher quantities requires treating [V2Cl3(THF)6]2[Zn2Cl6] with cyclopentadienylsodium.
With only 15 valence electrons, vanadocene is highly reactive. For example, it adds alkynes to yield the corresponding vanadium-cyclopropene complexes.
Likewise, high carbon monoxide pressures give CpV(CO)4. That piano-stool complex can rearrange to an ionic, mixed-valence, vanadium hexacarbonyl derivative:[citation needed]
Vanadocene is extremely air-sensitive, and either 12% (by mass) hydrochloric acid or ferrocenium in toluene will easily oxidize an electron from the complex:
The monocations themselves oxidize in air, having a redox potential of -1.10 V.
Halocarbons oxidize vanadocene to the corresponding monohalide, e.g.: