Sustainable Preparation of an Earth-abundant Metal Acetylacetonate Complex

Coordination compounds are a main focus of inorganic chemistry and most undergraduate inorganic laboratory courses feature experiments that detail their synthesis, characterization, and applications. In performing the synthesis of Fe(acac)3, students have the opportunity to learn about the relative abundance and cost of transition metals, and that acetylacetonate ligands can be used to support a variety of homoleptic M(acac)2 and M(acac)3 complexes.

Students will use an optimized stoichiometry of the reaction, determine the overall yield, and have the option to analyze the 1H NMR spectrum of the product and determine its magnetic susceptibility using Evans method or a magnetic susceptibility balance. This introduction to magnetism requires inorganic chemistry lab students to consider how symmetry and ligand field strength contribute to d-orbital filling.