The binding energy and bonding in dialane.

The binding energy of dialane, Al2H6, has been measured using mass spectrometric techniques to be 33 +/- 5 kcal/mol. This represents the first measurement of the thermochemical properties of dialane, which has only recently been observed in low-temperature matricies. High-level quantum mechanical calculations give a binding energy in agreement with the measured value. Experimental and quantum mechanical calculations show that dialane is chemically similar to diborane, B2H6, even though the bonding for these two systems shows significant differences.