A class of protic ionic-compounds were prepared by Brønsted acid-base reaction of imidazole or benzimidazole with one of the following acids: trifluoromethanesulfonic, nonafluorobutanesulfonic, para-toluenesulfonic and trifluoroacetic. Except those based on trifluoroacetic acid, all prepared compounds are thermally stable up to at least 270 °C. They are solid up to temperatures between 134 and 220 °C, depending on their constituent acid and base. A simple physico-mathematical model of ion motion in the lattice was developed and implemented to correctly interpret frequency-dependent electrical response of these materials, particularly in the solid state, and investigate their ion-conducting behavior as a function of temperature. These ionic compounds display sensible ionic conductivity up to ca. 5 × 10(-4) and 5 × 10(-2) S cm(-1) in the solid and molten state, respectively, under fully anhydrous conditions. The presence of absorbed water, after brief exposure to an ambient atmosphere, enhances conduction properties remarkably. Conductivity values up to 10(-3) and 10(-1) S cm(-1) were registered, respectively, in the solid and molten state, after short exposure to (humid) ambient air. It is argued how absorbed water molecules may remove protons from (ImH)(+) or (BImH)(+) groups, thereby enabling a chain mechanism of proton-hopping through non-protonated Im or BIm sites. It is discussed how these results and methods may inspire designing protic ionic-materials at the solid-state, with enhanced proton conduction even under fully-anhydrous conditions.

The hexanuclear phosphido-bridged dication [Pt6(μ-PBu(t)2)4(CO)6](2+), (1)(2+), reacts under mild conditions with pseudo-halide anions (CN(-), NCO(-), NCS(-)) to afford the corresponding neutral bis-substituted clusters Pt6(μ-PBu(t)2)4(CO)4X2 (2, X = CN; 3, X = SCN; 4, X = NCO). The reaction with sodium azide affords 4, which may arise from the formation of the intermediate bis-azido derivative Pt6(μ-PBu(t)2)4(CO)4(N3)2, 5, and CO. These react rapidly with each other affording 4 and N2. Cluster 5 was alternatively prepared as a stable compound by reacting with NaN3 the neutral cluster Pt6(μ-PBu(t)2)4(CO)4(OTf)2, 14, which contains two weakly bonded triflate anions. As expected, 5 reacts with carbon monoxide (1 atm) affording cluster 4 instantaneously and quantitatively. The new pseudo-halide clusters 2-5, which are interesting potential precursors of cluster-containing molecular frameworks, have been characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The solid state structures of clusters 2-4 have also been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. The main features of the molecular structures remain similar to those of many related congeners described previously; in addition, an interesting reversible phase transition was observed in the crystal structure of cluster 3. As their known congeners, the clusters undergo two reversible one-electron reductions and an irreversible oxidation. An excellent linear correlation was found between the redox potentials of the cathodic processes and Lever's ligand parameter E(L).