The nephelauxetic effect and ortho- to para-positronium conversion reactions promoted by Cr(III) complexes

The ortho- (o-Ps) to para-positronium (p-Ps) conversion reactions promoted by ten Cr(III) complexes were investigated at several temperatures. The results obtained are discussed together with those of three other Cr(III) complexes measured previously.It was found that all the reactions studied are diffusion controlled and that their rate constants,k_SE, increased as the corresponding ratiosB/B_obetween the Racah interelectronic repulsion parameters of Cr(III) complexes and Cr(III) gaseous ion decrease; that is,K_SE increases as 3d electron cloud expansion promoted by ligands, increases. Therefore the o-Ps to p-Ps conversion reactions can be considered a complementary probe for the spectroscopic method in investigating the ligand capabilities to cause 3d cloud expansion. The effect is called nephelauxetic which means expanding (electron) cloud.Finally an empirical average environmental rule, similar to that hypothesized for B/B_o ratios, is proposed for estimating the rate constants,K_SE, of complexes formed with mixed ligand sets.This work was supported by Ministero Universitá e Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (M.U.R.S.T.) and by Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche (C.N.R.).