John DRAKE Professor

Research Interests
Synthetic studies are carried out on various organometallic and hydride species of the main group elements. The new compounds are then characterized principally by NMR, IR and Raman spectroscopy. When appropriate crystals can be grown, the structures of selected samples are determined by X-ray crystallography.

One area currently being studied is that of sulphur-containing ligands in organogermanium derivatives. We have shown that derivatives, such as Ph3GeS2P(OMe)2 have potential as fuel additivies. As part of a study of their structure-reactivity relationship, we have established that dithiophosphates and dithiocarbonates are monodentate but dithiocarbamates are anisobidentate. Structural examinations of the latter suggest that they can lead to unusual five coordinated species.

A second area of interest centres around Te(IV) compounds. We are applying multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy (31P, 125Te, etc.) to examining the equilibria that clearly exist in solutions of organotellurium compounds with ligands that have the potential to be both mono- and bi-dentate. Related structural and theoretical studies are concerned with the significance of the lone-pair of electrons on tellurium and the importance of secondary interactions..

A third area involves the detailed interpretation of the infrared and Raman spectra of the free ligands used in our synthetic studies as well as the spectra of their salts and complexes. Such analyses involve computational analyses using programs based on quantum mechanical approaches in addition to conventional normal coordinate analysis.

Selected Publications
Drake J.E., Mislankar A.G., Ratnani R. . Synthesis and Characterization of O,O-Alkylene Dithiophosphate Derivatives of Dimethyl-and Trimethylgermane. Crystal Structure of Me2Ge[S2POCMe2CMe2O]2. Can. J. Chem. 72, 1830-1838 (1994).

Drake J.E., Khasrou L.N., Mislankar A.G., Ratnani R. Synthesis, Spectroscopic and Structural Studies of Dimethyltellutium (IV) Alkylene and Diphenyl Dithiophosphates. Crystal Structures of Me2Te[S2POCMe2CMe2O]2 and Me2Te[S2POCH2CEt2CH2O]2. Can. J. Chem. 72, 1328-1337, (1994).

Drake J.E., Yang, J. Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of S-Ethyl, S-Isopropyl, S- n-Propyl, n-Butyl Trithiocarbonate Xanthate) Derivatives of Trimethyl- and Triphenyl germanes and Diphenylgermane. Crystal Structure of Ph2Ge[S2CS(i-Pr)]2. Inorg. Chem. 33, 854-860 (1994).

Drake J.E. , Bailey J.H.E., Singh A.J., Srivastava V., [Chlorodi{2-(4-exthoxy- phenyltelluro)- ethyl}amino-N, Te, Te,] platinum(II) Chloride [PtCl{Te(C6H4 OC2H5)CH2CH2}NH]+Cl- .CHCl3.H2O. Acta Crystallog. C49, 684-687 (1993).