Tetramethylcyclopentadienyl Samarium(II) Metallocene Chemistry: Isolation of a Bimetallic Sm(II)/Sm(II) Complex

The salt metathesis reaction between one equivalent of SmI2(THF)2 and two equivalents K(C5Me4H) in THF afforded single crystals the unusual, toluene-soluble, asymmetric bimetallic Sm(II)/Sm(II) complex, (C5Me4H)2SmII(μ-η3:η5-C5Me4H)SmII(C5Me4H)(THF)2, instead expected product, (C5Me4H)2SmII(THF)2. toluene-insoluble products this can be worked up 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) to provide X-ray quality monomeric Sm(II) metallocene, (C5Me4H)2SmII(DME). (C5Me4H)2SmII(DME) also synthesized directly by neat DME. isolation characterization complex provides supporting evidence for possible oligomerization that may occur during synthesis complexes with cyclopentadienyl ligands are less sterically bulky solubilizing than (C5Me5)1−.