Synthesis, characterization and Schlenk equilibrium studies of methylmagnesium compounds with O- and N-donor ligands – the unexpected behavior of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (pmdta = N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine)

MgMe2 (1) was found to react with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (dabco) in tetrahydrofuran (thf) yielding a binuclear complex [{MgMe2(thf)}2(μ-dabco)] (2). Furthermore, from reactions of MgMeBr with diglyme (diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), NEt3, and tmeda (N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine) in etheral solvents compounds MgMeBr(L), (L = diglyme (5); NEt3 (6); tmeda (7)) were obtained as highly air- and moisture-sensitive white powders. From a thf solution of 7 crystals of [MgMeBr(thf)(tmeda)] (8) were obtained. Reactions of MgMeBr with pmdta (N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) in thf resulted in formation of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in nearly quantitative yield. On the other hand, the same reaction in diethyl ether gave MgMeBr(pmdta) · MgBr2(pmdta) (10) and [{MgMe2(pmdta)}7{MgMeBr(pmdta)}] (11) in 24% and 2% yield, respectively, as well as [MgMe2(pmdta)] (12) as colorless needle-like crystals in about 26% yield. The synthesized methylmagnesium compounds were characterized by microanalysis and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The coordination-induced shifts of the 1H and 13C nuclei of the ligands are small; the largest ones were found in the tmeda and pmdta complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed in 2 a tetrahedral environment of the Mg atoms with a bridging dabco ligand and in 8 a trigonal-bipyramidal coordination of the Mg atom. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of [MgMe2(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr2(pmdta)] (13) showed them to be monomeric with five-coordinate Mg atoms. The square-pyramidal coordination polyhedra are built up of three N and two C atoms in 12 and three N and two Br atoms in 13. The apical positions are occupied by methyl and bromo ligands, respectively. Temperature-dependent 1H NMR spectroscopic measurements (from 27 to −80 °C) of methylmagnesium bromide complexes MgMeBr(L) (L = thf (4); diglyme (5); NEt3 (6); tmeda (7)) in thf-d8 solutions indicated that the deeper the temperature the more the Schlenk equilibria are shifted to the dimethylmagnesium/dibromomagnesium species. Furthermore, at −80 °C the dimethylmagnesium compounds are predominant in the solutions of Grignard compounds 4–6 whereas in the case of the tmeda complex7 the equilibrium constant was roughly estimated to be 0.25. In contrast, [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in thf-d8 revealed no dismutation into [MgMe2(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr2(pmdta)] (13) even up to −100 °C. In accordance with this unexpected behavior, 1:1 mixtures of 12 and 13 were found to react in thf at room temperature yielding quantitatively the corresponding Grignard compound 9. Moreover, the structures of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9c), [MgMe2(pmdta)] (12c), and [MgBr2(pmdta)] (13c) were calculated on the DFT level of theory. The calculated structures 12c and 13c are in a good agreement with the experimentally observed structures 12 and 13. The equilibrium constant of the Schlenk equilibrium (2 9c ⇌ 12c + 13c) was calculated to be Kgas = 2.0 × 10−3 (298 K) in the gas phase. Considering the solvent effects of both thf and diethyl ether using a polarized continuum model (PCM) the corresponding equilibrium constants were calculated to be Kthf = 1.2 × 10−3 and Kether = 3.2 × 10−3 (298 K), respectively.