Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.43, No.14, 4109-4111, 2004
Ozonic acid and its ionic salts: Ab initio probing of the O-4(2-) dianion
The pyramidal O-4(2-) dianion is valence isoelectronic to the well-known ClO3- and SO32- anions, and yet it has not been observed. The synthesis of any molecule containing such a dianion would represent a major breakthrough in making molecules containing more than three covalently bound oxygen atoms. We found that the parent H2O4 ozonic acid is unstable in the form of the valence isoelectronic sulfurous acid H2SO3. Our quantum chemical probing of the Li2O4 ionic salt molecule is inconclusive. However, we found that the specially designed FLi3O4 gas phase molecule is a true metastable species and could be considered as the first molecule containing the O-4(2-) dianion. Our theoretical prediction of the first compound containing the tetraatomic covalently bound O-4(2-) dianion opens the possibility to even more oxygen rich compounds, which will have a great potential as high density oxygen storage.