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I was given a question to draw the structure of $\ce{Fe(CO)6}$ and tell the hybridization. Hybridization came out to be $\ce{sp^3d^2}$ and structure as Octahedral. But does $\ce{Fe(CO)6}$ really exist? I could not find anything about it on the internet.

Nilay Ghosh
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Danish Juneja
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1 Answers1

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There is an iron hexacarbonyl, not as a neutral compound but as a dication which satisfies the 18-electron rule. This along with its heavier Group 8 congeners is reported by Finze et al. [1]. The authors who report the tetrafluoroborate salts, also reference earlier work with the corresponding fluoroantimonates. The reference was found in Wikipedia.

Reference

  1. Finze, M.; Bernhardt, E.; Willner, H.; Lehmann, C. W.; Aubke, F. (2005). "Homoleptic, σ-Bonded Octahedral Superelectrophilic Metal Carbonyl Cations of Iron(II), Ruthenium(II), and Osmium(II). Part 2: Syntheses and Characterizations of [M(CO)6][BF4]2 (M = Fe, Ru, Os)". Inorganic Chemistry. 44 (12): 4206–4214. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ic0482483
Oscar Lanzi
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    So the question was given just for practice, I suppose. – Danish Juneja May 02 '20 at 14:00
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    @DanishJuneja Apparently school textbooks still teaches outdated concepts. Anyway, an organoiron complex of formula $\ce{[Fe2(µ-bdt)(CO)6]}$ has been known where bdt = benzene-1,2-dithiolate. See: https://www.unioviedo.es/jaclab/pub/p86.pdf – Nilay Ghosh May 02 '20 at 14:03
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    Thanks @NilayGhosh. Just to be clear: The compound cited in the comment, with two metal centers, resumably would not have the octahedral coordination of a mono-nuclear hexacarbonyl. – Oscar Lanzi May 02 '20 at 14:09
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    Yes, I know that. I just wanted to show OP that homoleptic, charge-neutral, binary hexacarbonyl of iron does not exist. – Nilay Ghosh May 02 '20 at 14:14