First example of low-valence ion substitution in Ln5O(OPri)13: mixed-valence europium oxoalkoxide [EuIII4EuIIO(OPri)12(HOPri)]HOPri

The novel mixed-valence alkoxide Eu3+(4)Eu2+O(OPri)12(HOPri)]HOPri (1) has been prepared and structurally and spectroscopically characterized. The three synthesis routes (i) metathesis of 4EuCl3, EuI2, and 14KOPri combined with hydrolysis with 1H2O, (ii) oxidation of 5Eu4(OPri)10(HOPri)3]2HOPri with 1.5O2, and (iii) reduction of Eu5O(OPri)13 with 0.8Eu4(OPri)10(HOPri)3]2HOPri all yielded pure 1, whereas (iv) reduction of Eu5O(OPri)13 with 0.36-0.5 mol of europium metal produced impure 1. The compound, having the average Eu oxidation number +2.8, is very sensitive toward further oxidation to Eu5O(OPri)13 and is part of a redox series of europium 2-propoxides with average oxidation states +2.5, +2.8, and +3. The square pyramidal molecular structure, containing an oxo-oxygen atom in the basal plane, is similar to that of the well-known Ln5O(OPri)13; the main difference is the substitution of an Eu3+(-)OPri pair for an Eu2+(-)HOPri pair in the basal plane. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and UV-visible spectroscopy showed that the solid-state structure was retained on dissolution in hexane and toluene-HOPri. The compound was further characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and solubility studies.