Zirconium acetylacetonate is the

coordination complex A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

with the formula Zr(C₅H₇O₂)₄. It is a common acetylacetonate of

zirconium Zirconium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Zr and atomic number 40. First identified in 1789, isolated in impure form in 1824, and manufactured at scale by 1925, pure zirconium is a lustrous transition metal with a greyis ...

. It is a white solid that exhibits high solubility in nonpolar organic solvents, but not simple hydrocarbons. The complex is prepared by treating zirconium oxychloride with

acetylacetone Acetylacetone is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is classified as a 1,3-diketone. It exists in equilibrium with a tautomer . The mixture is a colorless liquid. These tautomers interconvert so rapidly under most conditions that ...

: :ZrOCl₂ + 4 Hacac → Zr(acac)₄ + 2 HCl + H₂O The complex has a square

antiprism In geometry, an antiprism or is a polyhedron composed of two Parallel (geometry), parallel Euclidean group, direct copies (not mirror images) of an polygon, connected by an alternating band of triangles. They are represented by the Conway po ...

atic geometry with eight nearly equivalent Zr-O bonds of length 2.19 Å. The molecular

symmetry Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is Invariant (mathematics), invariant und ...

is D₂, i.e. the complex is chiral. Compounds of high coordination number tend to be stereochemically nonrigid as indicated by the observation of one methyl signal by

proton NMR spectroscopy Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (proton NMR, hydrogen-1 NMR, or 1H NMR) is the application of nuclear magnetic resonance in NMR spectroscopy with respect to hydrogen-1 nuclei within the molecules of a substance, in order to determine the struct ...

. More volatile than Zr(acac)₄ is the related complex of 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetonate.

References

{{zirconium compounds Zirconium(IV) compounds Acetylacetonate complexes