Group 1 elements alkali metal complexes

This chapter discusses the coordination chemistry of selected main group and transition metal complexes with dipicolinic acid, its analogues, and derivatives as ligands. Selected elements will be presented in terms of increasing atomic number. Out of all of the alkali metals, there has been a report of the crystal structure of sodium coordinated to dipicolinic acid. Calcium, magnesium, and strontium, three alkaline earth metals, are popular metal centers, which have been reported in the literature to be coordinated to dipicolinic acid or its analogues. ... 

The growing demand for efficient chemical transformations and catalysts has inspired a few research groups in recent years to develop rare earth metal catalysts for organic synthesis [1, 2]. Triflates of rare earth metals are strong Lewis acids, which are stable in aqueous solution. Rare earth metal alkoxides on the other hand are of interest as Lewis bases, e.g. in the catalysis of carbonyl reactions, because of the low ionization potentials (5.4-6.4 eV) and electronegativities (1.1-1.3) of the 17 rare earth elements. Rare earth metal-alkali metal complexes in contrast show both Brpnsted-basic and Lewis-acidic properties. Impressive applications of such catalysts are presented and discussed here. 

Two principle strategies have been employed for the synthesis of siloxide-containing molecular precursors. The first involves a silanolysis, or condensation, reaction of the Si - OH groups with a metal amido, alkyl, hahde, or alkoxide complex. The second method involves salt metathesis reactions of an alkali metal siloxide with a metal hahde. Much of our work has been focused on formation of tris(tert-butoxy)siloxide derivatives of the early transition metals and main group elements. The largely imexplored regions of the periodic table include the lanthanides and later transition metals. 

The transition metal-group IV metal bond can be formed both by attack of a transition metal anion at a group IVg halide and by attack of an alkali metal derivative of the group IV element at a suitable transition metal complex. 

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