Scandium-Mediated Formation of a Bis(tetrahydropentalene).

The reactivity of Li[Sc(COT'')2 ] (1; COT''=1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)cyclooctatetraenyl) towards CoCl2 is considerably different from that of related lanthanide triple-decker sandwich complexes. In addition to the expected triple-decker complex Sc2 (COT'')3 (2), the complex Sc2 {µ-BTHP}(COT'')2 (3) is formed, which comprises the novel BTHP2- ligand (BTHP2- =bis(3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,3a,6,6a-tetrahydropentalene-1-yl)diide or bis(2,7-bis(trimethylsilyl)bicyclo[3.3.0]octa-2,7-dien-4-yl)diide, C16 H10 (SiMe3 )42- ). The formation of 3 is likely facilitated by the fact that scandium prefers η8 ,η3  coordination rather than highly symmetric η8 ,η8  coordination, and the η3 -coordinated COT'' ligand in 1 is activated owing to a loss of aromaticity. Acid hydrolysis of 3 leads to air-stable H2 BTHP (4).

Heterometallic europium disiloxanediolates: synthesis, structural diversity, and photoluminescence properties.

This contribution presents a full account of a structurally diverse class of heterometallic europium disiloxanediolates. The synthetic protocol involves in situ metalation of (HO)SiPh2OSiPh2(OH) (1) with either (n)BuLi or KN(SiMe3)2 followed by treatment with EuCl3 in suitable solvents such as 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) or tetrahydrofuran (THF). Reaction of EuCl3 with 2 equiv of (LiO)SiPh2OSiPh2(OLi) in DME afforded the Eu(III) bis(disiloxanediolate) "ate" complex [{(Ph2SiO)2O}2{Li(DME)}3]EuCl2 (2), which upon attempted reduction with Zn gave the tris(disiloxanediolate) [{(Ph2SiO)2O}3{Li(DME)}3]Eu (3). Treatment of EuCl3 with (LiO)SiPh2OSiPh2(OLi) in a molar ratio of 1:2 yielded both the ate complex [{(Ph2SiO)2O}3Li{Li(THF)2}{Li(THF)}]EuCl·Li(THF)3 (4) and the LiCl-free europium(III) complex [{(Ph2SiO)2O}2{Li(THF)2}2]EuCl (5). Compound 5 was found to exhibit a brilliant red triboluminescence. When (KO)SiPh2OSiPh2(OK) was used as starting material in a 3:1 reaction with EuCl3, the Eu(III) tris(disiloxanediolate) [{(Ph2SiO)2O}3{K(DME)}3]Eu (6) was isolated. Attempted ligand transfer between 5 and (DAD(Dipp))2Ba(DME) (DAD(Dipp) = N,N'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-1,4-diaza-1,3-butadiene) afforded the unique mixed-valent Eu(III)/Eu(II) disiloxanediolate cluster [(Ph2SiO)2O]6Eu(II)4Eu(III)2Li4O2Cl2 (7). All new complexes were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. Photoluminescence studies were carried out for complex 5 showing an excellent color quality, due to the strong (5)D0→(7)F2 transition, but a weak antenna effect.