New lanthanide(III) disiloxanediolates: Syntheses and structures

Structure and Reactivity of Polynuclear Divalent Lanthanide Disiloxanediolate Complexes

Trinuclear molecular complexes of europium (II) and ytterbium(II) [Ln₃{(Ph₂SiO)₂O}₃(THF)₆], 1-Ln₃L₃ (Ln = Eu and Yb), supported by the dianionic tetraphenyl disiloxanediolate ligand, were synthesized via protonolysis of the [Ln{N(SiMe₃)₂}₂(THF)₂] complexes. In contrast, the reaction of [Sm{N(SiMe₃)₂}₂(THF)₂] with the (Ph₂SiOH)₂O ligand led to the isolation of the mixed-valent Sm(II)/Sm(III) complex [Sm₃{(Ph₂SiO)₂O}₃{N(SiMe₃)₂}(THF)₄], 2-Sm₃L₃, which was crystallographically characterized. The Eu(II) complex 1-Eu₃L₃ displays weak ferromagnetic coupling between the Eu(II) metal centers (J = 0.1035 cm^-1). The addition of 3 equiv of (Ph₂SiOK)₂O to 1-Eu₃L₃ resulted in the formation of the polynuclear Eu(II) dimer of dimers [K₄Eu₂{(Ph₂SiO)₂O}₄(Et₂O)₂]₂, 3-Eu₂L₄. Complexes 1-Ln₃L₃ (Ln = Eu and Yb) are stable in solution at room temperature, while 3-Eu₂L₄ shows higher reactivity and rapidly decomposes to give the mixed-valent Eu(II)/Eu(III) species [K₃Eu₂{(Ph₂SiO)₂O}₄], 4-Eu₂L₄. Complex 1-Yb₃L₃ affects the slow reductive disproportionation of carbon dioxide, but 1-Eu₃L₃ does not display any reactivity toward CO₂. However, the presence of one additional (Ph₂SiO^-)₂O per Eu(II) metal center in 3-Eu₂L₄ increases dramatically the reductive ability of the Eu(II) metal centers, affording the first example of carbon dioxide activation by an isolated divalent europium complex. The reduction of CO₂ by 3-Eu₂L₄ is immediate, and carbonate is formed selectively after the addition of a stoichiometric amount of CO_2.

High-yield synthesis of a unique Mn(iii) siloxide complex through KMnO4 oxidation of a Mn(ii) precursor

A unique trivalent manganese siloxide complex, blue-violet Mn^IIILi₂Cl[(Ph₂SiO)₂O]₂(THF)₄·2THF (3) has been prepared by a straightforward two-step synthetic protocol. Lithiation of (Ph₂SiOH)₂O (1) followed by reaction with MnCl₂(THF)₂ gave the structurally remarkable Mn(ii) precursor Mn^IILi₄Cl₂[(Ph₂SiO)₂O]₂(THF)₅·2THF (2). Surprisingly, the final oxidation step could be achieved using KMnO₄ in THF to provide the Mn(iii) species 3 in high yield (91%). Both title compounds were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Synthesis and structural study of new metallasilsesquioxanes of potassium and uranium

The first metallasilsesquioxanes comprising potassium and uranium have been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

The Recently Synthesized Dimagnesiabutadiene and the Analogous Dimetalla-Beryllium, -Calcium, -Strontium, and -Barium Compounds

The 2014 synthesis of the remarkable dimagnesium compound Mg₂ [C₄ (CH₃ )₂ (Si(CH₃ )₃ )₂ ](C₃ H₇ )₂ (C₄ H₈ O)₂ may point the way to a new chapter in alkaline earth organometallic chemistry. Accordingly, we have studied the known Mg compound and the analogous Be, Ca, Sr, and Ba structures. Although most of our theoretical predictions come from density functional methods, the latter have been benchmarked using coupled cluster theory including single, double, and perturbative triplet excitations, CCSD(T) using cc-pVTZ basis sets. Among our most important predictions are the energies for dissociation to the butadiene plus the RM-MR [R=(C₃ H₇ )₂ (C₄ H₈ O)₂ ; M=Be, Mg, Ca, Si, and Ba] entities. The most reliable predictions for the dissociation energies are 99-104 (Be), 85-93 (Mg), 90-99 (Ca), 83-92 (Sr), and 83-94 (Ba) kcal mol^-1 . Thus, there is reason to anticipate that the four unknown compounds should be achievable synthetically. The predicted metal-metal distances (not single bonds) are 2.89 Å (Mg⋅⋅⋅Mg), 3.46 Å (Ca⋅⋅⋅Ca), 3.75 Å (Sr⋅⋅⋅Sr), and 4.04 Å (Ba⋅⋅⋅Ba). The separated RM-MR compounds have longer M-M distances but genuine metal-metal single bonds. This perhaps counter intuitive result is due to the presence of the bridging carbons in the alkaline earth butadiene compounds. All five compounds incorporate metal-carbon ionic interactions.

In situ generated polysiloxanes stabilizing μ3-oxo bridged Sb3 triangles

The reaction of RSbO3H2 with t-butylsilanetriol has led to the isolation of organoantimony(v) based molecular triangles stabilized by siloxane frameworks. Depending on the reaction conditions employed or the substituents present on the antimony atom, either a combination of a disiloxane and a tetrasiloxane framework or a trisiloxane framework was generated in situ leading to the stabilization of the Sb3 triangle.

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.