A dinuclear cation with both four- and five-coordinate cobalt(II).

Abstract

The reaction of cobalt dichloride with the lithium salt of 2,6-diphenyliminopiperidine, Li(DPhIP), leads to the Co2(DPhIP)3+ cation. The DPhIP ligands in this cation each coordinate in such a way that two adjacent nitrogen atoms are chelated to one cobalt atom while the remaining one is bonded to the other cobalt atom. This leads to a structure in which one CoII ion is four-coordinate while the other is five-coordinate. The Co−Co distance of ca. 3.1 A implies that there is no direct metal to metal bonding.