Peter Edwards has just given the 2015 Hofmann lecture here at Imperial on the topic of solvated electrons. An organic chemist knows this species as “e–” and it occurs in ionic compounds known as electrides; chloride = the negative anion of a chlorine atom, hence electride = the negative anion of an electron. It struck me how very odd these molecules are and so I thought I might share here some properties I computed after the lecture for a specific electride known as GAVKIS.[1] If you really want to learn (almost) everything about these strange species, go read the wonderful review by Zurek, Edwards and Hoffmann,[2] including a lesson in the history of chemistry stretching back almost 200 years.
References
- D.L. Ward, R.H. Huang, and J.L. Dye, "Structures of alkalides and electrides. I. Structure of potassium cryptand[2.2.2] electride", Acta Crystallographica Section C Crystal Structure Communications, vol. 44, pp. 1374-1376, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S0108270188002847
- E. Zurek, P. Edwards, and R. Hoffmann, "A Molecular Perspective on Lithium–Ammonia Solutions", Angewandte Chemie International Edition, vol. 48, pp. 8198-8232, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.200900373