Low‐valent Mg(I) complexes by ball‐milling
Dawid Jędrzkiewicz, Jens Langer, Sjoerd Harder
Abstract
Abstract Mechanochemistry has great potential in the syntheses of low‐valent Mg(I) complexes. Magnesium iodide precursors with three different β‐diketiminate (BDI) ligands of varying bulk have been reduced with K/KI (or Na/NaCl) using the ball‐mill. Depending on the steric bulk of the ligand, the raw products are intensely colored powders, indicating the presence of (BDI)Mg⋅ radicals. Extraction with pentane gave (BDI)Mg−Mg(BDI) in excellent yields. Reaction of the powder with H 2 prior to extraction gave [(BDI)MgH] 2 . Extraction with benzene gave (BDI)Mg(C 6 H 6 )Mg(BDI) with a dearomatized puckered benzene dianion. Ball‐milling in the presence of triphenylbenzene gave a dinuclear Mg complex with a Ph 3 C 6 H 3 ‐dianion which slowly decomposed to (BDI)Mg−Mg(BDI) and Ph 3 C 6 H 3 .