title: Aluminium alkyl and aryloxide complexes of pyrazine and bipyridines: synthesis and structure.
abstract: The reaction of AlMe(3) and [((t)Bu)(2)Al(micro-OPh)](2) with pyrazine (pyz), 4,4'-bipyridine (4-4'-bipy), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (bpetha) and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpethe) yields (Me(3)Al)(2)(micro-pyz)(1), (Me(3)Al)(2)(micro-4,4'-bipy)(2), (Me(3)Al)(2)(micro-bpetha)(3), (Me(3)Al)(2)(micro-bipethe)(4), Al((t)Bu)(2)(OPh)(pyz)(5), [((t)Bu)(2)Al(OPh)](2)(micro-4,4-bipy)(6a), [((t)Bu)(2)Al(OPh)](2)(micro-bpetha)(7a), [((t)Bu)(2)Al(OPh)](2)(micro-bipethe)(8a). Compounds 1-4, 6a and 7a have been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. In solution compounds 1-4 undergo a rapid ligand-dissociation equilibrium resulting in a time-average spectrum in the (1)H NMR. In contrast, the solution equilibria for compounds 5-8a are sufficiently slow such that the mono-aluminium compounds may be observed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy: Al((t)Bu)(2)(OPh)(4,4-bipy)(6b), Al((t)Bu)(2)(OPh)(bpetha)(7b) and Al((t)Bu)(2)(OPh)(bpethe)(8b). The inability to isolate [((t)Bu)(2)Al(OPh)](2)(micro-pyz) and the relative stability of each complex is discussed with respect to the steric interactions across the bridging ligand (L) and the electronic effect on one Lewis acid-base interaction by the second Lewis acid-base interaction on the same ligand.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ogrin
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: van Poppel
authors.forename: Simon G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Bott
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Barron