The Parent Cyclopentadienyltin Cation, Its Toluene Adduct, and the Quadruple-Decker [Sn3 Cp4 ]2.

Truly cationic metallocenes with the parent cyclopentadienyl ligand are so far unknown for the Group 14 elements. Herein we report on an almost "naked" [SnCp]+ cation with the weakly coordinating [Al{OC(CF3 )3 }4 ]- and [{(F3 C)3 CO}3 Al-F-Al{OC(CF3 )3 }3 ]- anions. [SnCp][Al{OC(CF3 )3 }4 ] was used to prepare the first main-group quadruple-decker cation [Sn3 Cp4 ]2+ again as the [Al{OC(CF3 )3 }4 ]- salt. Additionally, the toluene adduct [CpSn(C7 H8 )][Al{OC(CF3 )3 }4 ] was obtained.