posted on 2004-08-02, 00:00authored byFelipe García, Alexander D. Hopkins, Richard A. Kowenicki, Mary McPartlin, Michael C. Rogers, Dominic S. Wright
The thermally stable tris(pyridyl) Al(III) complex [MeAl(2-py)3Li·THF] (1·THF), obtained
from the reaction of lithiopyridine [2-pyLi] with MeAlCl2 (3:1 molar equiv, respectively),
functions as a pyridyl-transfer reagent, as exemplified by the reaction of 1·THF with CuCl
(1:1 molar equiv), which gives the Cu(I) organometallic [{Cu(2-py)}3]∞ (2). The solid-state
structures of 1, the dimer [MeAl(2-py)3Li]2 ([1]2), and 2 are reported. Complex 2, which cannot
be obtained by direct reaction of [2-pyLi] with CuCl, has a polymeric structure in which
macrocyclic [Cu(2-py)]3 ring units form infinite offset stacks associated by short Cu···Cu
interactions between three- and four-coordinate Cu(I) centers (2.762(3) Å).