Aluminium, zinc, gallium, and cadmium complexes supported by a monoanionic [N2P2] ligand

Abstract

Metal–halide complexes of main-group metals Al, Ga, Zn, and Cd supported by the new sterically and electronically versatile monoanionic ligand, ^tBuN(H)SiMe₂N(CH₂CH₂PⁱPr₂)₂, H[N₂P₂], are described. The metal–alkyl complex [N₂P₂]AlMe₂ (4) was prepared by two metathesis reactions of [N₂P₂]AlCl₂ (1) and 2MeLi, as well as [N₂P₂]Li and Me₂AlCl. All compounds were characterized by standard analytical techniques; in addition, [N₂P₂]AlCl₂ (1), [N₂P₂]GaCl₂ (3), and [N₂P₂]CdCl₂ (6) were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The potentially tetradentate ligand enforces a tetrahedral geometry at each metal by adopting two coordination modes: κ²-NP (Al, Ga) and κ³-NP₂ (Cd).