Complexes
with weakly coordinating ligands are often formed in
chemical reactions and can play key roles in determining the reactivity,
particularly in catalytic reactions. Using time-resolved X-ray absorption
fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy in combination with time-resolved
IR (TRIR) spectroscopy and tungsten hexacarbonyl, W(CO)6, we are able to structurally characterize the formation of an organometallic
alkane complex, determine the W–C distances, and monitor the
reactivity with silane to form an organometallic silane complex. Experiments
in perfluorosolvents doped with xenon afford initially the corresponding
solvated complex, which is sufficiently reactive in the presence of
Xe that we can then observe the coordination of Xe to the metal center,
providing a unique insight into the metal–xenon bonding. These
results offer a step toward elucidating the structure, bonding, and
chemical reactivity of transient species by X-ray absorption spectroscopy,
which has sensitivity to small structural changes. The XAFS results
indicate that the bond lengths of metal–alkane (W–H–C)
bond in W(CO)5(heptane) as 3.07 (±0.06) Å, which
is longer than the calculated W–C (2.86 Å) for binding
of the primary C–H, but shorter than the calculated W–C
(3.12 Å) for the secondary C–H. A statistical average
of the calculated W–C alkane bond lengths is 3.02 Å, and
comparison of this value indicates that the value derived from the
XAFS measurements is averaged over coordination of all C–H
bonds consistent with alkane chain walking. Photolysis of W(CO)6 in the presence of HSiBu3 allows the conversion
of W(CO)5(heptane) to W(CO)5(HSiBu3) with an estimated W–Si distance of 3.20 (±0.03) Å.
Time-resolved TRIR and XAFS experiments following photolysis of W(CO)6 in perfluoromethylcyclohexane (PFMCH) allows the characterization
of W(CO)5(PFMCH) with a W–F distance of 2.65 (±0.06)
Å, and doping PFMCH with Xe allows the characterization of W(CO)5Xe with a W–Xe bond length of 3.10 (±0.02) Å.