Composés d'addition des halogénures de niobium(V) et de tantale(V). V. Stabilité relative des composés des chlorures avec quelques oxydes et sulfures organiques

The adducts of niobium(V) and tantalum(V) chlorides with some aliphatic and cyclic oxides and sulfides, studied by NMR. spectroscopy in CHCl₃, are found to have 1:1 stoechiometry, at room temperature and lower. In the thioxane complex TaCl₅ · C₄H₈OS two species are present with the ligand coordinated by the sulfur atom or by the oxygen atom, respectively, in a proportion which has been determined. The thioxane adduct of niobium(V) chloride, however, is preferentially coordinated by the sulfur atom. There is also evidence for the species 2MCl₅ · C₄H₈OS. The relative basicity of each donor atom in dioxane, thioxane and dithiane is calculated and discussed. In contrast to the nitrile adducts, whose stability was found earlier to be controlled by inductive factors, the steric factors are more important for the ether and sulfide adducts: MCl₅ · Me₂X is more stable than the corresponding MCl₅ · Et₂X (M = Nb, Ta; X = O, S). Both niobium(V) and tantalum(V) chlorides have a soft behaviour, but NbCl₅ is a weaker Lewis acid than TaCl₅ and shows also a softer behaviour.