10.1071/CH13209
The research focuses on synthesizing and characterizing a series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes with Group 12 and 14 elements, including zinc, cadmium, germanium, tin, and lead. The primary purpose is to explore the potential of these complexes in catalysis and to develop new bonding environments within the main group elements. The researchers used the bulky carbene IPr (IPr = (HCNDipp)2C:, Dipp = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) as a donor and reacted it with various Group 12 and 14 halide reagents such as ZnI2, CdCl2, GeCl4, SnCl4, and PbBr2. They also employed hydride sources like Li[BH4] and Li[HBEt3] to potentially create new element hydride adducts. The study successfully synthesized several new carbene–element halide adducts, including IPr–ZnI2–THF, IPr–CdCl2–THF, IPr–GeCl4, IPr–SnCl4, and IPr–PbBr(NHDipp). The key conclusion is that the nature of the hydride source significantly impacts the outcome of the reactions, with the successful synthesis of the thermally stable bis(borohydride) zinc complex IPr–Zn(BH4)2 being a notable achievement. The research aims to explore the reactivity of these complexes in CO2 activation and as precursors to new clusters or nanomaterials.
10.1007/BF01364636
The study presents a gravimetric method for the determination of cadmium as oxalate. The method involves precipitating cadmium from a neutral, diluted solution using a slight excess of an ammonium oxalate solution. The precipitate forms as CdC2O4·3H2O, which is insoluble in the precipitation solution and the washing liquid. After the precipitation, the solution is decanted, and the precipitate is washed with a mixture of alcohol and water, followed by thorough washing with alcohol and ether. The precipitate is then dried under reduced pressure and weighed. The cadmium content is calculated from the weight of the precipitate using a specific factor. The study highlights the effectiveness of ammonium oxalate as a precipitating agent, noting that it is preferable to oxalic acid because the cadmium oxalate is less soluble in an excess of ammonium oxalate compared to oxalic acid. The method is precise and accurate, with results comparable to other established cadmium determination methods. However, the presence of alkali or ammonium salts can interfere with the method, necessitating their removal before analysis. The study also mentions that similar methods can be applied to determine zinc and bismuth gravimetrically as oxalates, with related experiments underway.