Coordination of benzene to a sodium cation

The complexes Na(Et₂O)(dpp-BIAN)AlEt₂ (5) and Na(η⁶-C₆H₆)(dpp-BIAN)AlEt₂ (6) were synthesized by reactions of the disodium salts of dpp-BIAN (dpp-BIAN is 1,2-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene) with 1 equiv. of Et₂AlCl in diethyl ether and benzene, respectively. The structures of both complexes were established by X-ray diffraction. In molecules 5 and 6, diethylaluminum is chelated by the dianionic dpp-BIAN ligand. The sodium cations in molecules 5 and 6 are located above the plane of the diimine fragments and coordinate the Et₂O or benzene molecule, respectively. Dedicated to Academician G. A. Abakumov on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1702–1707, September, 2007.