STRUCTURES OF GA(HFAC)(3) AND IN(HFAC)(3) (HFAC EQUALS 1,1,1,5,5,5-HEXAFLUOROPENTANE-2,4-DIONATE) IN THE GAS-PHASE AS STUDIED BY ELECTRON-DIFFRACTION AND AB-INITIO CALCULATIONS

The molecular structures of Ga(hfac)(3) and In(hfac)(3) (hfac = 1,1,1, 5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,4-dionate) have been determined by gas-phase electron diffraction (GED) restrained by ab initio computations. The structures, with D-3 symmetry, have a distorted octahedral arrangement of oxygen atoms about the central atom such that the E(hfac) planes a re orientated at ca. 82 (E = Ga) and 81 degrees (E = In) to one anothe r. Theoretical computations at the SCF and DFT levels afford structure s similar to those found experimentally but with less distorted EO6 oc tahedra, ca. 89 and 87 degrees (DFT), respectively.