Abstract
X-ray structural studies demonstrate that diaryl tellurium diiodides can be constrained by steric factors (ortho-alkyl substituents) to adopt a trigonal pyramidal structure in preference to the expected bisphenoidal structure. DFT calculations are shown to reproduce successfully structural details of the title compounds; they allow one to predict which coordination number should be energetically favored. All compounds are chiral, but the barrier to stereomutation by intra- and intermolecular pathways (60–85 kJmol−1) is rather low.
Acknowledgments
Dedicated to Professor Kurt Mislow, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J., on account of his 80th birthday.
Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie is gratefully acknowledged.