Light Lanthanide Metallocenium Cations Exhibiting Weak Equatorial Anion Interactions.

As the dysprosocenium complex [Dy(Cpttt)2][B(C6F5)4] (Cpttt = C5H2tBu3-1,2,4, 1-Dy) exhibits magnetic hysteresis at 60 K, similar lanthanide (Ln) complexes have been targeted in order to provide insights into this remarkable property. We recently reported homologous [Ln(Cpttt)2][B(C6F5)4] (1-Ln) for all the heavier Ln from Gd-Lu; herein, we extend this motif to the early Ln. We find, for the largest LnIII cations, that contact ion pairs [Ln(Cpttt)2{(C6F5-κ1-F)B(C6F5)3}] (1-Ln; La-Nd) are isolated from reactions of parent [Ln(Cpttt)2(Cl)] (2-Ln) with [H(SiEt3)2][B(C6F5)4], where the anion binds weakly to the equatorial sites of [Ln(Cpttt)2]+ through a single fluorine atom in the solid state. For smaller SmIII, [Sm(Cpttt)2][B(C6F5)4] (1-Sm) is isolated, which like heavier 1-Ln does not exhibit equatorial anion interactions, but the EuIII analogue 1-Eu could not be synthesised due to the facile reduction of EuIII precursors to EuII products. Thus with the exception of Eu and radioactive Pm this work constitutes a structurally similar family of Ln metallocenium complexes, over 50 years after the [M(Cp)2]+ series was isolated for the 3d metals.