Molecular structures,vibrational assignments and barriers to pseudorotation of gaseous niobium pentachloride and tantalum pentachloride from electron diffraction data

The pentachlorides of niobium and tantalum have trigonal bipyramidal structures (D_3hsymmetry) with thermal average axial bonds, r_α, longer than the equatorial ones by 0.097(9) and 0.142(5) Å, respectively. The equatorial bonds are r(Nb—Cl) = 2.241(4) and r(Ta—Cl) = 2.227(3) Å. Standard deviations are given. Calculated amplitudes of vibration for the e' type of bending frequencies assigned as v₆ (equatorial in-plane bend) < v₇ (axial—equatorial bend) agree significantly better with the experimental vibrational amplitudes than do amplitudes computed for the opposite assignment. Assuming an analytical quartic-harmonic potential for the pseudorotational motion of the molecules, barriers to pseudorotation of 1.5(0.7) and 1.2(0.6) kcal mol^?1 are estimated from the electron diffraction data for NbCl₅ and TaCl₅, respectively. Effects from interatomic multiple scattering are included in the theoretical intensities, and are found to be of some importance to the results.