Tantallacyclopentadiene as a unique metal-containing diene ligand coordinated to nickel for preparing tantalum–nickel heterobimetallic complexes

Abstract

A mononuclear tantallacyclopentadiene complex, TaCl₃(C₄H₂tBu₂) (3), serves as a unique ligand to nickel: the addition of Ni(COD)₂ to 3 selectively afforded heterobimetallic Ta–Ni complex 4. The cyclooctadiene ligand bound to the nickel center in complex 4 was readily substituted by monodentate and bidentate phosphine ligands, such as dimethylphenylphosphine, 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, and 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane, to give the corresponding phosphine complexes 5, 6a, and 6b. We also examined a ligand substitution reaction with 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (IPr) to produce the corresponding Ta–Ni complex 7. These newly prepared Ta–Ni heterobimetallic complexes were characterized spectroscopically together with the crystal structures of 4, 6a, and 7.