SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
Bonding analysis in ytterbium(ii) distannyl and related tetryls†
a
Hassan
Oulyadi,
c
Jean-François
Carpentier,
a
Jean-Yves
Saillard
*a
and
Yann
Sarazin
*a
Abstract
The syntheses of the ytterbium(II) distannyl [Yb{Sn(SiMe3)3}2·(thf)4] (Yb–Sn) and of its digermyl analogue [Yb{Ge(SiMe3)3}2·(thf)3] (Yb–Ge) are presented. The compounds were characterised by multinuclear high-resolution solution NMR spectroscopy, including 171Yb NMR, and by X-ray diffraction crystallography. The bonding and electronic properties of the two complexes, along with those of the known ytterbium(II) disilyl derivative [Yb{Si(SiMe3)3}2·(thf)3] (Yb–Si) and those of the congeneric calcium distannyl [Ca{Sn(SiMe3)3}2·(thf)4] (Ca–Sn), were investigated in detail by DFT calculations. This analysis points at a primarily ionic Yb-tetrel bonding, with a small covalent contribution, attributed principally to the 5d(Yb) participation. This weak covalent character is found to be larger for the distannyl Yb–Sn than for its lighter Si- and Ge-derivatives. The covalent component is also found to be greater in Yb–Sn than in Ca–Sn, due to the availability of the 5d(Yb) orbitals for bonding.
- This article is part of the themed collection: Tin: Modern chemistry of an element from antiquity
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