The far left of the periodic table is often misconstrued as being intractible, albeit useful, and limited to the +1 oxidation state. This is far from accurate. Dissolving alkali metals in anhydrous amine solvents may yield, with care(!), metastable solutions of the metals in the formally +1, 0 or -1 oxidation states, each with their own unique structure and propeties. The manner in which the solvent and metal species control such varied states is a topic of continued study, both for the fascination of discovering new chemistry in the s-block, and because these systems demonstrate vast difference in their collective electronic and magentic behaviour. Combinining spectroscopic probes of the alkali metal or electron environment with neutron scattering techiques to investigate the local and extended structure of the liquid, we can begin to understand how the metal-solvent systems adapt to encompass different electron densities. The similarities and differences between single- and dual-amine metallic sytems will be presented in this talk, alongside the liquid structures of both electride or alkalide solutions. We recognise that theoretical insights are beginning to outpace experimental studies, and as such will present a conceptual route in which both may rapidly advance this field. There's a superconductor hidden in these solutions somehwere, and the treasuremap is still being sketched.

Expanded metals and alkalides: The structural evolution of low oxidation state alkali metals in solution

256th National Meeting (2018)

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