This Chapter provides a digest of the literature reported during 2011 concerning the noble-gases with emphases placed on the syntheses, isolation, and characterisations of new noble-gas compounds. Its intent is to highlight discovery and provide insight into current research trends in the field of noble-gas chemistry.
HighlightsHighlights include: the syntheses and characterisations of the mixed Xe II /Xe IV complexes a-XeOF 4 ÁXeF 2 and b-XeOF 4 ÁXeF 2 ; and XeO 2 , the missing oxide of xenon.An entertaining and informative book has recently been published which vividly describes the history of the discovery the noble gases, their properties, and uses from the perspective of the author, a geophysicist, who has worked with the noble gases for ca. 50 years. 1 However, the book is a disappointment to the chemist in that the rich chemistry associated with the noble-gases has been ignored and denied as we approach the 50th anniversary of the discovery of noble-gas reactivity (March 23, 1962). In his book, David E. Fisher states: (1) ' '[This] is the story of the discovery and uses of the noble gases, a group of elements vanishingly rare on our planet which in fact do nothing.'' and (2) ''Á Á Áthe noble gases, which don't do anything, which don't react either chemically or biologicallyÁ Á Á''. As is apparent from the present and prior Annual Reports, this, fortunately, is not the case. An excellent review of this book has recently appeared and should be consulted. 2
Syntheses of new noble-gas compoundsThe interaction of XeF 2 with excess XeOF 4 resulted in the mixed oxidation state complexes, a-XeOF 4 ÁXeF 2 and b-XeOF 4 ÁXeF 2 . 3 The more stable a-phase was characterized by X-ray crystallography and showed that the XeF 2 molecules are symmetrically coordinated through their F ligands to the Xe(VI) atoms of the XeOF 4 molecules which are, in turn, coordinated to four XeF 2 molecules (Fig. 1). A second, high-temperature phase, b-XeOF 4 ÁXeF 2 , was identified in admixture with a-XeOF 4 Á