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The synthesis and catalytic properties of a series of magnesium compounds consisting of monoanionic, N,N'-chelating ligands (N∩N = amidinates, guanidinates, phosphaguanidinates) is reported. The compounds were synthesized by (i) insertion of a carbodiimide into an existing Mg-C or Mg-N bond, or (ii) protonolysis of an organomagnesium compound by a neutral pre-ligand. Structural analyses of mono- or bis-(chelate) compounds with general formula Mg(N∩N)X(L)n and Mg(N∩N)2(L)n (X = halide, aryloxide, amide; L = Et2O, THF; n = 0, 1 or 2) have been performed and the influence that the ligand substituent patterns have on the solid-state structures has been probed. Selected examples of the compounds were tested as (pre)catalysts for the polymerization of lactide, the dimerization of aldehydes and the hydroacetylenation of carbodiimides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and molecular structures of the cobalt(II) N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes [(NHC)Co{N(SiMe3)2}2], where NHC = 1,3-bis(diisopropylphenyl)imidazolylidene (IPr) (6), 1,3-bis(mesityl)imidazolylidene (IMes) (7), and 1,3-bis(tert-butyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (ItBu) (8), are reported. Complexes 6-8 are rare examples of three-coordinate cobalt NHC complexes. The steric congestion within the coordination environments of the cobalt(II) centers in 6 and 7 results in the longest Co-C(NHC) distances currently known. Investigating the thermal stability of 6-8, we have found that the steric congestion in 6 is such that heating the complex to reflux in toluene prompts a rearrangement from the normal, C2-bonding mode of the IPr ligand to the corresponding "abnormal" or mesoionic bonding mode. The rearrangement results in formation of [(aIPr)Co{N(SiMe3)2}2] (9), which is the first cobalt complex of an abnormal NHC ligand. The Co-C bond in 9 is 0.06 Å shorter than the analogous bond in 6, suggesting that, although the rearrangement occurs due to the spatial demands of the IPr ligand, there is also a thermodynamic driving force in terms of the Co-C bond. In contrast to the case for 6, complex 7 is stable with respect to the normal-to-abnormal rearrangement. Refluxing complex 8 in toluene results in activation of a tert-butyl substituent, which is eliminated as isobutene, followed by formation of the 1-tert-butylimidazole complex [(tBuIm)Co{N(SiMe3)2}2] (10). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimetallic ate complexes were synthesized from the divalent transition metal silylamide complexes {Fe[N(SiMe3)2]2}2, Cr[N(SiMe3)2]2(thf), Co[N(SiMe3)2]2(thf)2, and {Mn[N(SiHMe2)2]2}2 (thf = tetrahydrofuran) by the addition of the corresponding lithium or sodium silylamide salt. Accordingly, donor-free LiFe[N(SiMe3)2]3 and NaMn[N(SiHMe2)2]3 as well as thf-coordinated (thf)NaCr[N(SiMe3)2]3 and (thf)NaCo[N(SiMe3)2]3 were obtained. The thf-containing mixed iron(II)/lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide complex (thf)LiFe[N(SiMe3)2]3 was synthesized by the simple addition of thf to the donor-free complex LiFe[N(SiMe3)2]3. All of the complexes were characterized by IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and the effective magnetic moments in solution were determined by the Evans method. The solid-state structures of these bis(trimethylsilyl)amido-derived complexes were additionally determined by X-ray crystallography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthetic route to magnesium guanidinate compounds that avoids ligand redistribution is reported; selected derivatives are active pre-catalysts in the dimerization of aldehydes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]