Crystal Structure of (Cyclopentadienyl)-Dichlorogadolinium(III)-Tris(Tetrahydrofuran)

The compound CpGdCl2-3THF has been successfully prepared from NaCp (Cp = C5H5) and GdCl3 (2:1 molar ratio) in THF and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and MS spectra and a single crystal X-ray diffraction study, showing that the compound is monomeric in both vapour and solid states. Crystals are monoclinic, space group P21/n, with a = 7.818, b = 17.139(2), c = 15.203(2)A, β = 95.88(2)°, and D c=1.678 g/cm3 for Z=4; 1876 reflections were considered observed. The structure was solved by heavy-atom methods. Least-squares refinement converged to a final value of R=0.041. The gadolinium has a distorted octahedral geometry coordinated by one Cp ring centroid, three THF oxygen atoms and two chloride anions. The average Gd-O(THF) distance is 2.397(3) A. The Gd-C(Cp) bond lengths range from 2.673(6) to 2.691(6)A, and average 2.683(6)A.