An N-Tethered Uranium(III) Arene Complex and the Synthesis of an Unsupported U–Fe Bond

Abstract

Amination of 2,2″-dibromo-p-terphenyl with 2,6-diisopropylaniline, through Pd mediated cross coupling, yields the p-terphenyl bis(aniline) ligand H2LAr. Deprotonation of H2LAr with excess KH generates the dianion [K(DME)2]2LAr as a dark red solid. Treatment of [K(DME)2]2LAr with UI3(dioxane)1.5 produces the mononuclear U(III) complex LArU(I)(DME) (1). Subsequent addition of the nucleophilic metal anion [CpFe(CO)2]− (Fp–) gives the bimetallic U(III) compound LArU(Fp) (2) in modest yield which features a rare instance of an unsupported U–M bond. Inspection of the metrical parameters of the solid-state structures of 1·DME and 2·0.5DME from X-ray crystallographic analyses show a seemingly η6-interaction between the uranium and the terphenyl ligand (1: U1–Ccentroid = 2.56 A; 2: U1–Ccentroid = 2.45 A), spatially imposed as a consequence of the anilide N-donor atom coordination. Furthermore, the U–Fe bond length in 2 (U1–Fe1 = 2.9462(3) A) is consistent with a metal–metal single bond. Notably, electronic structu...