Trends in benzene inverse sandwich complexes of the alkaline-earth metals Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba.

ABSTRACT: Mechanochemical reduction of β-diketiminate (BDI) barium iodide precursors with K/KI resulted in the first barium inverse sandwich complexes containing the benzene dianion in yields of up to 54%. This most challenging isolation of highly reactive (BDI)Ba-(C₆H₆)-Ba(BDI) complexes, completes the family of heavier benzene inverse sandwich complexes and allows for a comparison of trends in the series from Mg, Ca, Sr to Ba. Syntheses, stabilities, structures, electronic states and reactivities of the full range are compared. Crucial for isolation of the Ba inverse sandwich complexes are the tBu-substituents in the ligand backbone which push the bulky aryl rings towards the large Ba metal cations. These secondary Ba⋯(π-Ar) interactions result in an unexpected high st

SUBMITTER: Jedrzkiewicz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12409674 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature