| Abstract: We have found from experimental data that, in the iron pentacarbonyl molecule, the length of Fe-C bond in axial is shorter than that in planar, but the bond is weaker; the bond distances of C-O of both planar and axial are equal, while the bond strengths are different. This is against the traditional view of “the shorter the bond is, the stronger the bond will be”. We have got through calculation and research, that the main cause of such difference is that the effects of the backdonor of Fe atom′s electrons to C-O bonds in axial and planar are different. The shorter the Fe-C bond is, the more effective the backdonor (or transfer) of electrons is. So that the population between Fe and C in axial are less than those in planar, so the bond is weaker, and the C-O bonds have gained more backdonor electrons than those in planar, thus the bond is stronger. |
