Zinc Complexes of Aldehydes and Ketones, 3 Aldehyde Complexes of Zinc Halides

Aldehyde complexes of the zinc halides were obtained by treating ZnCl2, ZnBr2, and ZnI2 under anhydrous conditions with large excesses of benzaldehyde and various substituted benzaldehydes. Their constitutions were determined by a total of 12 X-ray structure analyses. Three product types were found: ZnHal2(aldehyde)2 (A), [ZnHal2(aldehyde)](infinity) (B), and [Zn(aldehyde) 6] [Zn2Hal6] (C). All three dissolve readily in the corresponding aldehyde or in polar nonprotic solvents indicating the presence of solvated zinc species in solution.