Addition of ethylene or hydrogen to a main-group metal cluster under mild conditions.

Reaction of the tin cluster Sn8(Ar(Me6))4(Ar(Me6)=C6H2-2,6-(C6H3-2,4,6-Me3)2) with excess ethylene or dihydrogen at 25 °C/1 atmosphere yielded two new clusters that incorporated ethylene or hydrogen. The reaction with ethylene yielded Sn4(Ar(Me6))4(C2H2)5 that contained five ethylene moieties bridging four aryl substituted tin atoms and one tin-tin bond. Reaction with H2 produced a cyclic tin species of formula (Sn(H)Ar(Me6))4, which could also be synthesized by the reaction of {(Ar(Me6))Sn(μ-Cl)}2 with DIBAL-H. These reactions represent the first instances of direct reactions of isolable main-group clusters with ethylene or hydrogen under mild conditions. The products were characterized in the solid state by X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy and in solution by multinuclear NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopies. Density functional theory calculations were performed to explain the reactivity of the cluster.