Intricate Road to Linear Anionic Nickel(I) Hexamethyldisilazanide [Ni(N(SiMe3)2)2]

Inorg Chem. 2022 May 23;61(20):7794-7803. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00214. Epub 2022 May 6.

Abstract

In this report, we present intricate pathways for the synthesis of linear nickel(I) silylamide K{m}[Ni(NR2)2] (NR2 = -N(SiMe3)2). This is achieved first via the reduction of nickel(II) trisamide Li(donor)4[Ni(NR2)3] (Li(thf)x[1]) with KC8 in the presence of 18-crown-6 or crypt.222. In due course, the behavior of Li(donor)4[Ni(NR2)3] as a source of masked two-coordinate nickel(II) hexamethyldisilazanide is explored, leading to the formation of nickel(I) and nickel(II) N-donor adducts, as well as metal-metal-bonded dinickel(I) trisamide K(toluene)[Ni2(NR2)3] (K(toluene)[5]). Finally, a convenient and reliable synthesis of K{m}[Ni(NR2)2] by ligand exchange of phosphines in [Ni(NR2)(PPh3)2] with K{m}(NR2) is presented. This allows for the comprehensive analysis of its electronic properties which reveals a fluxional behavior in solution with tight anion/cation interactions.