Inhibition of Alkali Metal Reduction of 1-Adamantanol by London Dispersion Effects

A series of alkali metal 1-adamantoxide (OAd1) complexes of formula [M(OAd1)(HOAd1)2], where M=Li, Na or K, were synthesised by reduction of 1-adamantanol with excess of the alkali metal. The syntheses indicated that only one out of every three HOAd1 molecules was reduced. An X-ray diffraction study of the sodium derivative shows that the complex features two unreduced HOAd1 donors as well as the reduced alkoxide (OAd1), with the Ad1 fragments clustered together on the same side of the NaO3 plane, contrary to steric considerations. This is the first example of an alkali metal reduction of an alcohol that is inhibited from completion due to the formation of the [M(OAd1)(HOAd1)2] complexes, stabilized by London dispersion effects. NMR spectroscopic studies revealed similar structures for the lithium and potassium derivatives. Computational analyses indicate that decisive London dispersion effects in the molecular structure are a consequence of the many C−H⋅⋅⋅H−C interactions between the OAd1 groups.Peer reviewe

Two-coordinate, non-linear vanadium(II) and chromium(II) complexes of the silylamide ligand –N(SiMePh₂)₂:characterization and confirmation of orbitally quenched magnetic moments in complexes with sub-d⁵ electron configurations

Abstract The two-coordinate metal amide complexes V{N(SiMePh₂)₂}₂ (1) and Cr{N(SiMe₂Ph)₂}₂ (2) were synthesized by reaction of two equivalents of LiN(SiMePh₂)₂ with VI₂(THF)₄ or CrCl₂(THF)₂ in n-hexane. Their crystal structures showed that they have bent coordination, N-V-N = 137.0(4)°, N-Cr-N = 139.19(5)°, at the metals. The vanadium complex (1) displayed no tendency to isomerize as previously observed for some V(II) amido complexes. Curie fits of SQUID magnetic measurements afforded magnetic moments of 3.36 (1) and 4.68 (2) μB, consistent with high-spin configurations. These values are lower than the spin-only values of 3.88 and 4.90 μB expected for d³ and d⁴ complexes, suggesting a significant unquenched orbital angular momentum contribution to the overall moment, which is lower as a result of the positive spin-orbit coupling constants

Molecular Complexes Featuring Unsupported Dispersion-Enhanced Aluminum–Copper and Gallium–Copper Bonds

The reaction of the copper(I) β-diketiminate copper complex {(Cu(BDIMes))2(μ-C6H6)} (BDIMes = N,N′-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)pentane-2,4-diiminate) with the low-valent group 13 metal β-diketiminates M(BDIDip) (M = Al or Ga; BDIDip = N,N′-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)pentane-2,4-diiminate) in toluene afforded the complexes {(BDIMes)CuAl(BDIDip)} and {(BDIMes)CuGa(BDIDip)}. These feature unsupported copper–aluminum or copper–gallium bonds with short metal–metal distances, Cu–Al = 2.3010(6) Å and Cu–Ga = 2.2916(5) Å. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that approximately half of the calculated association enthalpies can be attributed to London dispersion forces.peerReviewe