Pentamethylantimony can be made by reacting Sb(CH3)3Br2 with two equivalents of methyl lithium.[3] Another production route is to convert trimethylstibine to the trimethyl antimony dichloride, and then replace the chlorine with methyl groups with methyl lithium.[2]
Sb(CH3)3 + Cl2 → Sb(CH3)3Cl2
Sb(CH3)3Cl2 + 2LiCH3 → Sb(CH3)5 + 2LiCl
Properties
Pentamethylantimony is colourless.[3] At -143 °C it crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with space groupCcmm. Unit cell dimensions are a=6.630 Å b=11.004 Å c=11.090 Å. There are four formula per unit cell. Unit cell volume is 809.1 Å3.[3] The trigonal bipyramid shape has three equatorial positions for carbon, and two axial positions at the peaks of the pyramids. The length of the antimony-carbon bond is around 214 pm for equatorial methyl groups and 222 pm for the axial positions. The bond angles are 120° for ∠C-Sb-C across the equator, and 90° for ∠C-Sb-C between equator and axis.[3] The molecules rapidly change carbon atom position, so that in NMR spectrum as low as −100 °C, there is only one kind of hydrogen position.[2]
Pentamethylantimony is more stable than pentamethylbismuth, because in lower energy trimethylbismuth, the non-bonding pair of electrons is more shielded due to the f-electrons and the lanthanoid contraction. Trimethylantimony is higher in energy, and thus less is released in a decomposition of pentamethylantimony.[3] Pentamethylantimony can be stored as a liquid in clean glass at room temperature.[4]
Pentamethylantimony melts at -19 °C. Although it decomposes when boiling is attempted and can explode, it has a high vapour pressure at 8 mmHg at 25 °C.[4]
There are two absorption bands in the ultraviolet at 2380 and 2500 Å.[4]
Reactions
Pentamethylantimony reacts with methyl lithium to yield a colourless lithium hexamethylantimonate in tetrahydrofuran.[3]
Sb(CH3)5 + LiCH3 → Li(thf)Sb(CH3)6
Pentamethylantimony reacts with silsesquioxanes to yield tetramethylstibonium silsesquioxanes. eg (cyclo-C6H11)7Si7O9(OH)3 yields (cyclo-C6H11)7Si7O9(OSb(CH3)4)3. The reaction happens quickly when there are more than two OH groups.[5]
Phosphonic acids and phosphinic acids combine with pentamethylantimony to yield compounds like (CH3)4SbOP(O)Ph2, (CH3)4SbOP(O)(OH)Ph and (CH3)4SbOP(O)(OH)3, eliminating methane.[6]
Stannocene Sn(C5H5)2 combines with pentamethylantimony to produce bis(tetramethylstibonium)tetracyclopentadienylstannate ([(CH3)4Sb]2Sn(C5H5)4).[7]
With halogens, pentamethylantimony has one or two methyl groups replaced by the halogen atoms.[8] Lewis acids also react to form tetramethyl stibonium salts, including [(CH3)4Sb]TlBr4, [(CH3)4Sb][CH3SbCl5],[8]
Pentamethylantimony reacts with the surface of silica to coat it with Si-O-Sb(CH3)4 groups. Over 250 °C this decomposes to Sb(CH3) and leaves methyl groups attached to the silica surface.[9]
References
^Greene, Tim M.; Downs, Anthony J.; Pulham, Colin R.; Haaland, Arne; Verne, Hans Peter; Volden, Hans Vidar; Timofeeva, Tatjana V. (November 1998). "Molecular Structures of Pentamethylarsenic(V) and Trimethyldichloroarsenic(V) by Gas Electron Diffraction and ab Initio Calculations:? Molecular Mechanics Calculations on Pentamethylarsenic(V), Pentaphenylarsenic(V), and Related Compounds". Organometallics. 17 (24): 5287–5293. doi:10.1021/om980520r.
^Feher, Frank J.; Budzichowski, Theodore A.; Rahimian, Kamyar; Ziller, Joseph W. (May 1992). "Reactions of incompletely-condensed silsesquioxanes with pentamethylantimony: a new synthesis of metallasilsesquioxanes with important implications for the chemistry of silica surfaces". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 114 (10): 3859–3866. Bibcode:1992JAChS.114.3859F. doi:10.1021/ja00036a038.
^Graves, Guy E.; Van Wazer, John R. (May 1978). "Methyl group replacement on pentamethylantimony with organophosphorus substituents". Journal of Organometallic Chemistry. 150 (2): 233–237. doi:10.1016/S0022-328X(00)84725-7.
^Bos, Klaas D.; Bulten, Eric J.; Meinema, Harry A.; Noltes, Jan G. (20 March 1979). "Synthesis of bis(tetramethylstibonium)tetracyclopentadienylstannate a novel type of organotin(II) compound". Journal of Organometallic Chemistry. 168 (2): 159–162. doi:10.1016/s0022-328x(00)83270-2. hdl:1874/25359.
^Wang, Y.; Morrow, B. A. (January 1996). "Infrared Study of the Chemisorption of Pentamethylantimony on Silica". Langmuir. 12 (17): 4153–4157. doi:10.1021/la951514s.