STEREOCHEMSTRY OF ARSENIC: PART III. o-PHENYLENEDIARSINE OXYCHLORIDE
Crystals of o-phenylenediarsine oxychloride, C6H4As2Cl2O, are monoclinic with four molecules in a unit cell of dimensions a = 14.50, b = 8.38, c = 7.66 Å, β = 105.8°, space group C2/c. The structure has been determined from projections along the b and c axes. Each molecule is situated on a 2-fold symmetry axis and is planar except for the chlorine atoms, which lie one on either side of the plane of the other atoms. The values of the bond lengths and valency angles have been obtained. Abnormal valency angles at the arsenic and oxygen atoms are the result of their presence in the five-membered ring, and the unusual stability of the molecule in spite of these angles can be interpreted in terms of aromatic character, involving dπ–pπ bonding. The intermolecular separations correspond to normal van der Waals interactions.