Aluminium-methylen-verbindungen

[(CH3 )Al(CH2 )]12 : Methylaluminomethylene (MAM-12)

The molecular structure of enigmatic "poly(aluminium-methyl-methylene)" (first reported in 1968) has been unraveled in a transmetalation reaction with gallium methylene [Ga8 (CH2 )12 ] and AlMe3 . The existence of cage-like methylaluminomethylene moieties was initially suggested by the reaction of rare-earth-metallocene complex [Cp*2 Lu{(μ-Me)2 AlMe2 }] with excess AlMe3 affording the deca-aluminium cluster [Cp*4 Lu2 (μ3 -CH2 )12 Al10 (CH3 )8 ] in low yield (Cp*=C5 Me5 ). Treatment of [Ga8 (CH2 )12 ] with excess AlMe3 reproducibly gave the crystalline dodeca-aluminium complex [(CH3 )12 Al12 (μ3 -CH2 )12 ] (MAM-12). Revisiting a previous approach to "poly(aluminium-methyl-methylene" by using a (C5 H5 )2 TiCl2 /AlMe3 (1 : 100) mixture led to amorphous solids displaying solubility behavior and spectroscopic features similar to those of crystalline MAM-12. The gallium methylene-derived MAM-12 was used as an efficient methylene transfer reagent for ketones.

Geminal C-Cl and Si-Cl bond activation of chloromethanes and chlorosilanes by gallanediyl LGa

The activation of relatively inert E-X σ-bonds by low-valent main group metal complexes is receiving increasing interest. We here confirm the promising potential of gallanediyl LGa (L = HC[C(Me)N(Dip)]₂, Dip = 2,6-i-Pr₂C₆H₃) to activate E-Cl (E = C, Si) σ-bonds of group 14 element compounds. Equimolar reactions of LGa with chloromethanes and chlorosilanes EH_xCl_4-x (E = C, x = 0-2; E = Si, x = 0, 1) occurred with E-Cl bond insertion and formation of gallylmethanes and -silanes L(Cl)GaEH_xCl_3-x (E = C, x = 2 (1), 1 (2), 0 (3); E = Si, x = 1 (4)). In contrast, consecutive insertion into a geminal E-Cl bond was observed with two equivalents of LGa, yielding digallyl complexes [L(Cl)Ga]₂EH_xCl_2-x (E = C, x = 2 (5); E = Si, x = 1 (6), 0 (7)). Compounds 1-7 were characterized by heteronuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ²⁹Si (4, 6)), IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and their solid-state structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (sc-XRD).

μ-Methyl-ene-bis-[di-bromido(diethyl ether-κO)aluminium(III)]: crystal structure and chemical exchange in solution

In the title compound, [Al2Br4(CH2)(C4H10O)2], the mol-ecule lies on a crystallographic twofold axis passing through the bridging C atom. Each AlIII atom is four-coordinate, being bonded to two bromide ions, bridging the CH2 group as well as the oxygen atom of a diethyl ether ligand in a slightly distorted tetra-hedral arrangement with angles ranging from 101.52 (8) to 116.44 (5)°. The Al-CH2-Al angle, 118.4 (2)°, is the smallest observed for a structure where this moiety is not part of a ring. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯Br inter-actions, characterized as R 2 2(12) rings, link the mol-ecules into ribbons in the [101] direction. The title compound is monomeric and coordinatively saturated in the solid state, as each aluminum is four-coordinate, but in solution the ether mol-ecules from either or both Al atoms can dissociate, and would be expected to rapidly exchange, and this is supported by NMR data.

Recent advances in the synthesis and transformation of gem-borylsilylalkanes

gem-Borylsilylalkanes have emerged as powerful reagents and attracted increasing attention in synthetic chemistry. This review summarizes the recent development in the synthesis of gem-borylsilylalkanes and their chemoselective transformation

Gallium Methylene

Despite the eminent importance of metal alkylidene species for organic synthesis and industrial catalytic processes, molecular homoleptic metal methylene compounds [M(CH₂ )_n ] as the simplest representatives, have remained elusive. Reports on this topic date back to 1955 when polymeric [Li₂ (CH₂ )]_n and [Mg(CH₂ )]_n were accessed by pyrolysis of methyllithium and dimethylmagnesium, respectively. However, the insoluble salt-like composition of these compounds has impeded their application as valuable reagents. We report that rare-earth metallocene methyl complexes [(C₅ Me₅ )₂ Ln{(μ-Me)₂ GaMe₂ }] (Ln=Lu, Y) trigger the formation of homoleptic gallium methylene [Ga₈ (μ-CH₂ )₁₂ ] from trimethylgallium [GaMe₃ ] (Me=methyl) via a cascade C-H bond activation involving the dodecametallic clusters [(C₅ Me₅ )₆ Ln₃ (μ₃ -CH₂ )₆ Ga₉ (μ-CH₂ )₉ ] as crucial intermediates. Such gallium methylene compounds feature a reversible [Ga₈ (μ-CH₂ )₁₂ ]/[Ga₆ (μ-CH₂ )₉ ] oligomer switch in donor solvents and act as Schrock-type methylene-transfer reagents.