The diniobium tetragonal lantern compound
Nb2(hpp)4, 1, has been prepared
in high yields by the
reaction of NbCl3(DME), DME = dimethoxyethane, with
a mixture of lithium naphthalenide and Li(hpp),
hpp = the anion of
1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydropyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine.
Compound 1 interacts with two equivalents
of NaEt3BH to give the bis-adduct,
1·2NaEt3BH. In a refluxing
mixture of THF/toluene, 1·2NaEt3BH
loses
one NaEt3BH molecule to give
1·NaEt3BH. Both adducts contain
short Na to N−C−N “pseudo-allylic”
interactions to the coordinated hpp ligand. Very little variation
can be seen in the Nb−Nb bond distances,
which are 2.2035(9), 2.2064(3), and 2.2187(7) Å for
1, 1·2NaEt3BH and
1·NaEt3BH, respectively. By
a
synthetic route similar to that used to make 1,
Nb2(azin)4·2LiCl·4THF,
2, was prepared using the anion of
7-azaindole; the Cl- ions are loosely coordinated to the
Nb atoms. This ligand tends to give long metal−metal distances, and the Nb−Nb distance of 2.278(2) Å is 0.07 Å
longer than that in 1.