O-17 NUCLEAR-QUADRUPOLE RESONANCES IN MOLECULAR-OXYGEN REVERSIBLY BONDED TO IRIDIUM CARRIER

A proton nuclear magnetic double-resonance technique has been used to detect the pure nuclear quadrupole resonances of 17O-17O reversibly bonded to Vaska—s iridium compound, IrO2Cl(CO)(P[C6H5]3)2. Two sets of lines are observed, corresponding to e2qQ=16.9 MHz with η=0.7 and to e2qQ=15.6 MHz with η=0.9. The inequivalence of the charge distributions about each O atom which is revealed by these results, and which is not evident in the X-ray internuclear distances, may provide new insight into the mechanism of reversible oxygen bonding. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.