π‐Complexes of p‐block elements: (η6‐Mesitylene)tin(II) chloride tetrachloroaluminate(III), a coordination polymer

Hubert Schmidbaur, Thomas Probst, Oliver Steigelmann, Gerhard Müller

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Abstract

6‐1,3,5‐Trimethylbenzene)tin(II) chloride tetrachloroaluminate(III), (η6‐1,3,5‐C6H3Me3)SnCl (AlCl4), has been obtained from the reaction of anhydrous SnCl2 and AlCl3 in the molar ratio 1 : 2 in excess mesitylene as a solvent. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic needles, space group P21/n, containing a coordination polymer with planar four‐membered rings Sn‐Cl‐Sn‐Cl as the fundamental structural units. Each tin(II) atom of these rings is η6‐bonded to a mesitylene ring, with the metal approximately centered over the aromatic hydrocarbon at a distance of 2.71 Å. Each of the tin(II) atoms is further connected to two tetrachloroaluminate counter ions, one of these monodentate and one bidentate. Through this mono/bidentate contacts a one‐dimensional coordination polymer is generated with crystallographic centers of inversion in the middle of the Sn(Cl)2Sn and Sn(AlCl4)2Sn rings. The structure is similar to that of the analogous benzene complex, but not identical owing to a different connectivity pattern. Also, the arene‐Sn(II) distance is much shorter in the mesitylene complex (2.71 Å) than in the benzene complex (2.90 Å), indicating that the trimethylbenzene molecule is a much better donor than benzene.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)161-165
Number of pages5
JournalHeteroatom Chemistry
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1990
Externally publishedYes

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