Felix AubkeProfessor Emeritus
FAX: (604) 822-2847
Email: aubke@chem.ubc.ca
Curriculum Vitae: Dipl. Chem., Aachen (1960); Dr. rer. Nat., Aachen (M. Schmeisser, 1962); Postdoctoral, U. of Washington (G.H. Cady, 1964-65) and McMaster (R.J. Gillespie, 1965-66); Killam Senior Fellowship (1987); Heinrich Herz Foundation Fellowship (1988); Alexander v. Humboldt Foundation Senior Research Prize (1995); Chair of the 10th and 15th International Symposium on Fluorine Chemistry 1983 and 1997.
Inorganic:
Physical inorganic chemistry; superacids; fluorine chemistry; vibrational spectroscopy; noble metal chemistry; organo transition metal chemistry; 'naked' metal cations
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Research Interests
We have been interested in rece nt years in the
development and study of new conjugate superacids systems and their application
to unsolved synthetic problems. From recent structural studies we have learned
how superacid anions e.g. the highly symmetrical
[Sb(SO3F)6]- and
[Sb2F11]- function in the solid-state.  The application of superacid media, in
particular of liquid antimony(V) fluoride, the strongest Lewis acid has led, via
'naked' metal cations in an acidic matrix, to the discovery of a new class of
s-bonded homoleptic carbonyl cations of electron rich metals. These cations are
of the type [M(CO)n]m+, n = 2 (linear), 4 (square planar)
and 6 (octahedral) and m = 1, 2, or 3, are stabilized in the solid state by the
anion [Sb2F11]- to give thermally stable salts.
Outstanding representatives are [Hg(CO)2]2+, the first
carbonyl compound of a post-tra nsition metal;
[Ir(CO)6]3+, the first tripositive carbonyl cation; and
[Fe(CO)6]2+, the first 2+ cation in the 3d series.
The cations stabilized by
secondary interionic contacts, display unprecedented spectroscopic properties,
which provide evidence for strongly diminished p-backbonding and correlate well
to properties of neutral or anionic metal carbonyl species. Their chemistry is
so far largely unexplored. Their simplicity and their bonding characteristic
make them 'textbook' compounds for future inorganic texts. 
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