Synthesis and characterization of a homoleptic titanium dihydrobis(pyrazol-1-yl)borate complex

The neutral titanium(III) complex Ti(BP)3 {BP = dihydrobis(pyrazol-1-yl)borate} was synthesized by reacting TiCl3(THF)2 with an excess of the potassium salt of the ligand in THF. The compound was isolated as a green solid and characterized by elemental analysis, NMR and IR spectroscopy, Mass spectrometry and magnetic and conductivity measurements. The molecular ion was detected in the Mass spectrum. 11B NMR data suggested a distortion from the ideal octahedral geometry caused by the d1 electronic configuration of the metal centre and this hypothesis was confirmed by means of DFT calculations.