Indium trihydride explained

Indium trihydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It has been observed in matrix isolation and laser ablation experiments.^{[1] [2]} Gas phase stability has been predicted.^[3] The infrared spectrum was obtained in the gas phase by laser ablation of indium in presence of hydrogen gas ^[4] is of no practical importance.

Chemical properties

Solid is a three-dimensional network polymeric structure, where In atoms are connected by In-H-In bridging bonds, is suggested to account for the growth of broad infrared bands when samples of and produced on a solid hydrogen matrix are warmed. Such a structure is known for solid .^[5] When heated above, indium trihydride decomposes to produce indium–hydrogen alloy and elemental hydrogen. As of 2013, the only known method of synthesising indium trihydride is the autopolymerisation of indane below .

Other indium hydrides

thumb|left|188px|Structure of the adduct of and tricyclohexylphosphine.Several compounds with In-H bonds have been reported. Examples of complexes with two hydride ligands replaced by other ligands are ^[6] and .

Although is labile, adducts are known with the stoichiometry (n = 1 or 2).^[7] 1:1 amine adducts are made by the reaction of (lithium tetrahydridoindate(III)) with a trialkylammonium salt. The trimethylamine complex is only stable below −30 °C or in dilute solution. The 1:1 and 1:2 complexes with tricyclohexylphosphine have been characterised crystallographically. The average In-H bond length is 168 pm.^[8] Indium hydride is also known to form adducts with NHCs.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Aluminium, gallium and indium trihydrides. An IR matrix isolation and ab initio study . Chemical Physics . 185 . 1 . July 1994 . 25–37 . P. . Pullumbi . Y. . Bouteiller . L. . Manceron . C. . Mijoule . 10.1016/0301-0104(94)00111-1. 1994CP....185...25P .
2. Hydrides of the Main-Group Metals: New Variations on an Old Theme . S. . Aldridge . A. J. . Downs . Chemical Reviews . 2001 . 101 . 11 . 3305–65 . 10.1021/cr960151d . 11840988.
3. Are the Compounds InH₃ and TlH₃ Stable Gas Phase or Solid State Species? . P. . Hunt . P. . Schwerdtfeger . Inorganic Chemistry . 1996 . 35 . 7 . 2085–2088 . 10.1021/ic950411u.
4. Andrews . L. . Wang . X. . 2004 . Infrared Spectra of Indium Hydrides in Solid Hydrogen and of Solid Indane . Angewandte Chemie International Edition . 43 . 13. 1706–1709 . 10.1002/anie.200353216 . 15038043.
5. The Crystal Structure of Aluminum Hydride . Turley . J. W. . Rinn . H. W. . Inorganic Chemistry . 1969 . 8 . 1 . 18–22 . 10.1021/ic50071a005 .
6. Rowen Churchill . M. . Lake . C. H. . Chao . S.-H. L. . Beachley . O. T. . 1993. Silicone grease as a precursor to a pseudo crown ether ligand: crystal structure of [K⁺]₃[K(Me₂SiO)₇⁺][InH(CH₂CMe₃)₃^–]₄ . Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications. 1993 . 20. 1577–1578 . 10.1039/C39930001577 .
7. Wang. X.. Andrews. L.. Infrared Spectra of Indium Hydrides in Solid Hydrogen and Neon. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 20 May 2004. 108. 20. 4440–4448. 10.1021/jp037942l. 2004JPCA..108.4440W.
8. Jones. C.. The stabilisation and reactivity of indium trihydride complexes. Chemical Communications. 22. 2001. 2293–2298. 1359-7345. 10.1039/b107285b. 12240044.
9. Preparation, Characterization, and Reactivity of the Stable Indium Trihydride Complex [InH₃{[[IMes]]}] . C. D. . Abernethy . M. L. . Cole . C. . Jones . Organometallics . 2000 . 19 . 23 . 4852–4857 . 10.1021/om0004951.