The synthesis, X-ray structure and fluxional behaviour of an ytterbium(ii) phenalenide complex

Fluxional motion in a dinuclear copper(i) complex with a propeller-type ligand: metal hopping on both sides

Fluxional motion of a dicopper(i) complex of hexa(2-pyridyl)benzene that accompanies metal hopping processes and ring rotation was studied.

Supersize Cp! Tetrabenzo[a,c,g,i]fluorenyl complexes of yttrium

The synthesis of tetrabenzo[a,c,g,i]fluorenyl (Tbf) yttrium dialkyl complexes, (Tbf)Y(CH2SiMe3)2(L) (L = tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1; L = bipy, 2), by direct protonolysis of the tris(alkyl) complex, Y(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)2, are reported. The X-ray crystal structures of 1 and 2 display the helical twisting typically observed for the Tbf ligand. Dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies on 1 show a barrier to Tbf helical inversion (epimerization or “wagging”) of 38.1 ± 0.5 kJ mol−1. The reaction of 1 with acidic hydrocarbons such as 1,3-bis(trimethylsilyl)cyclopentadiene or trimethylsilylacetylene results in protonolysis to form the mixed Cp derivative [(Tbf){C5H3(SiMe3)2}Y(CH2SiMe3)(THF)] (3) or [(Tbf)Y(CCSiMe3)2(THF)]n (4), respectively. In the case of 4, a small amount of the trinuclear cluster (Tbf)Y3(μ3-CCSiMe3)2(μ2-CCSiMe3)3(CCSiMe3)3(THF)2 (5) was isolated and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Dialkyl 1 undergoes smooth insertion of trimethylsilyl isocyanate to afford [(Tbf)Y{κ2-(N,O)-Me3SiN(Me3SiCH2)CO}2(THF)] (6) but it does not react with alkenes. Treating 1 with [Ph3C]+[B(C6F5)4]− in bromobenzene generates a moderately active ethylene polymerization catalyst (36 kg mol−1 h−1 bar−1).

A Study of π-π Stacking Interactions and Aromaticity in Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon/Nucleobase Complexes

We analysed the interactions and aromaticity electron-density delocalisation observed in π-π complexes between the phenalenyl radical and acenaphthylene, and the DNA and RNA nucleobases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil). Interaction energies are obtained at the M06-2X/6-311++G(2df,p) computational level for gas phase and PCM-water conditions. For both the phenalenyl radical and acenaphthylene, the complexes formed with guanine are the most stable ones. Atoms in molecules and natural bond orbital results reveal weak π-π interactions between both interacting moieties, characterized by bond critical points between C⋅⋅⋅C and C⋅⋅⋅N atoms. Nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS) indicate the retention of the aromatic character of the monomers in the outer region of the complex. The fluctuation indexes reveal a loss of electron delocalisation upon complexation for all cases except guanine complexes. Nevertheless, the interface region shows large negative NICS values, which is not associated with an increase of the aromaticity or electron-density delocalisation, but with magnetic couplings of both molecules, leading to an unrealistic description of the aromatic behaviour in that region.