“With a single crystal of the compound, we were able to verify where the hydrogen atoms were located by detailed analysis of a series of Laue diffraction patterns.” “Subsequent high-level computational studies of this compound reported in the study are also advancing our understanding of the chemistry.” This also validated the assignment of the aluminium oxidation state,” said Edwards. Neutron diffraction provided that evidence unambiguously. “Although Cameron’s group had excellent spectroscopic evidence, and high-resolution X-ray diffraction data, that suggested the hydride locations, he wanted to ensure the locations and numbers were correct. Hydrogen atoms, except hydrides, are omitted. Molecular structure of an aluminium hydride cluster. The unusual electronic state and shape of the magnesium +1 compound developed by Cameron’s group gave rise to a way to create this novel compound with a cluster of six aluminium atoms and six hydrides at its core and to isolate it for chemical study. “Although these compounds had been sought for a long time, they had previously eluded synthesis.” “Because boron gave rise to a widely studied class of cluster compounds, the boranes, it was thought there ought to be analogous aluminium compounds because aluminium lies directly under boron on the periodic table,” explained Edwards. “It was a great privilege to contribute to this tour de force of chemistry,” said Edwards, who had collaborated previously with Jones and Bonyhady to verify the first stable magnesium +1 compound which the Jones group had published in Science in 2007. The research was led by Prof Cameron Jones with Dr Simon Bonhady (a student at the time), at Monash University and was published in Nature Communicationsin 2018. Low resolution Laue diffraction data from the Koala instrument was used to determine that a crystal was the first example of an elusive class of compounds that some chemists had hypothesised could exist and had been searching for over decades.ĭr Alison Edwards said that although the crystal gave one of the ugliest diffraction patterns she had ever collected, the information it contained was sufficient to confirm an important development in chemistry-the synthesis of aluminium hydride cluster. Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering Expand.Neutron Activation Analysis and Neutron irradiation.Reconstructing Australia’s fire history.
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