The Structural Chemistry of Metal Complexes in the Solid State

The Structural Chemistry of Metal Complexes in the Solid State takes the reader through the factors that determine the structure and properties of organometallic coordination compounds through to an understanding of intermolecular interactions in the solid state. The aim is to provide a state-of-the-art view of the methodologies used to determine the structures of organometallic and coordination complexes, including sections on quantum crystallography, advances in database knowledge mining, and the use of synchrotrons and XFELs to determine the crystal structures of materials under non-ambient conditions. Key classes of coordination complexes are discussed, including metal clusters, cages, and metal-organic frameworks, and their structure and bonding are rationalized using crystal engineering and computational techniques. Paul Raithby and Lauren Hatcher link the basic structural chemistry of organometallic and coordination chemistry with the recent experimental and theoretical advances in structural chemistry, based around single-crystal X-ray crystallography, showing how the crystal structures are related to the nature of intramolecular and intermolecular interactions and how the resultant solid-state structures are correlated with physical and chemical properties of the materials. The emphasis is on how the material properties and functions can be linked to applications and devices, such as sensors and optoelectronics, operating under ambient and non-ambient conditions. The book also provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the factors that cause metal complexes to form with specific molecular and crystal structures, and how the crystal structures relate to the range of intermolecular interactions present within the systems. Synthetic and crystal engineering approaches are used to rationalise the structures. There is analysis of the pros and cons of the state-of-the-art methodologies used in structure analysis, and outlines what the limitations of the techniques are. The significance of structural studies under non-ambient conditions is also highlighted along with how these studies are related to the solid-state properties of the materials explained. Details of important classes of molecular complexes are provided, and the nature of the bonding within them explained. The Structural Chemistry of Metal Complexes in the Solid State is written primarily for inorganic and materials chemistry students, from 3rd and 4th year undergraduates and masters students through to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and academics.