For decades it has been know that the oxidation of Tc (mainly from TcO2) can result in a red oily, liquid compound. It was proposed that the red product was formed by the hydrolysis of Tc2O7 to HTcO4 followed by the reduction of HTcO4. We investigated several hydrated species of Tc2O7 and HTcO4 with DFT/TD-DFT and show that these compounds do not exhibit the characteristic UV-Vis adsorption band around 510 nm. Electron-Ion mass spectrometry measurements of Tc2O7 indicated several other lower oxidation state candidate stoichiometries. We explored several molecular arrangements of these candidate stoichiometries, and have discovered a bonding motif that closely reproduces the experimentally observed adsorption at 510 nm. In addition, we explored dimer configurations that suggest why the red compound exists as an oily liquid and has not yet been crystallized.

Mystery of red technetium oxide

254th National Meeting (2017)

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