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The mechanism of reversible hydrogen activation by ansa-aminoboranes, 1-N-TMPH-CH(2)-2-[HB(C(6)F(5))(2)]C(6)H(4) (NHHB), was studied by neutron diffraction and thermogravimetric mass-spectroscopic experiments in the solid state as well as with NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy in solution. The structure of the ansa-ammonium borate NHHB was determined by neutron scattering, revealing a short N-H···H-B dihydrogen bond of 1.67 Å. Moreover, this intramolecular H-H distance was determined in solution to be also 1.6-1.8 Å by (1)H NMR spectroscopic T(1) relaxation and 1D NOE measurements. The X-ray B-H and N-H distances deviated from the neutron and the calculated values. The dynamic nature of the molecular tweezers in solution was additionally studied by multinuclear and variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy. We synthesized stable, individual isotopic isomers NDDB, NHDB, and NDHB. NMR measurements revealed a primary isotope effect in the chemical shift difference (p)Δ(1)H(D) = δ(NH) - δ(ND) (0.56 ppm), and hence supported dihydrogen bonding. The NMR studies gave strong evidence that the structure of NHHB in solution is similar to that in the solid state. This is corroborated by IR studies providing clear evidence for the dynamic nature of the intramolecular dihydrogen bonding at room temperature. Interestingly, no kinetic isotope effect was detected for the activation of deuterium hydride by the ansa-aminoborane NB. Theoretical calculations attribute this to an "early transition state". Moreover, 2D NOESY NMR measurements support fast intermolecular proton exchange in aprotic CD(2)Cl(2) and C(6)D(6).

Homogeneous and inclusion-free single crystals of 2:1 mullite (Al(4.8)Si(1.2)O(9.6)) grown by the Czochralski technique were examined by X-ray and neutron diffraction methods. The observed diffuse scattering together with the pattern of satellite reflections confirm previously published data and are thus inherent features of the mullite structure. The ideal composition was closely met as confirmed by microprobe analysis (Al(4.82 (3))Si(1.18 (1))O(9.59 (5))) and by average structure refinements. 8 (5) to 20 (13)% of the available Si was found in the T* position of the tetrahedra triclusters. The strong tendencey for disorder in mullite may be understood from considerations of hypothetical superstructures which would have to be n-fivefold with respect to the three-dimensional average unit cell of 2:1 mullite and n-fourfold in case of 3:2 mullite. In any of these the possible arrangements of the vacancies and of the tetrahedral units would inevitably be unfavorable. Three directions of incommensurate modulations were determined: q1 = [0.3137 (2) 0 ½], q2 = [0 0.4021 (5) 0.1834 (2)] and q3 = [0 0.4009 (5) -0.1834 (2)]. The one-dimensional incommensurately modulated crystal structure associated with q1 was refined for the first time using the superspace approach. The modulation is dominated by harmonic occupational modulations of the atoms in the di- and the triclusters of the tetrahedral units in mullite. The modulation amplitudes are small and the harmonic character implies that the modulated structure still represents an average structure in the overall disordered arrangement of the vacancies and of the tetrahedral structural units. In other words, when projecting the local assemblies at the scale of a few tens of average mullite cells into cells determined by either one of the modulation vectors q1, q2 or q3 a weak average modulation results with slightly varying average occupation factors for the tetrahedral units. As a result, the real structure of mullite is locally ordered (as previously known), but on the long-range its average is not completely disordered, the modulated structure of mullite may be denoted the true 'average structure of mullite'.

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