Syntheses and structures of doubly tucked-in titanocene complexes with tetramethyl(aryl)cyclopentadienyl ligands

Titanocene–bis(trimethylsilyl)ethyne complexes Ti(η⁵-C₅Me₄R)₂(η²-Me₃SiCCSiMe₃)], where R=benzyl (Bz, 1a), phenyl (Ph, 1b) and p-fluorophenyl (FPh, 1c), thermolyse at 150–160°C to give products of double C---H activation Ti(η⁵-C₅Me₄Bz){η³:η⁴-C₅Me₃(CH₂)(CHPh)}] (2a), Ti(η⁵-C₅Me₄Bz){η³:η⁴-C₅Me₂Bz(CH₂)₂}] (2a′), Ti(η⁵-C₅Me₄Ph){η³:η⁴-C₅Me₂Ph(CH₂)₂}] (2b), and Ti(η⁵-C₅Me₄FPh){η³:η⁴-C₅Me₂FPh(CH₂)₂}] (2c). In the presence of 2,2,7,7-tetramethylocta-3,5-diyne (TMOD) the thermolysis affords analogous doubly tucked-in compounds bearing one η³:η⁴-allyldiene and one η⁵-C₅Me₄R ligand having TMOD attached by its C-3 and C-6 carbon atoms to the vicinal methylene groups adjacent to the substituent R (R=Bz (3a), Ph (3b), and FPh (3c)). Compound 3a is smoothly converted into air-stable titanocene dichloride TiCl₂{η⁵-C₅Me₂Bz(CH₂CH(t-Bu)CH=CHCH(t-Bu)CH₂)}(η⁵-C₅Me₄Bz)] (4a) by a reaction with hydrogen chloride. Yields in both series of doubly tucked-in complexes decrease in the order of substituents: BzPh>FPh. Crystal structures of 1c, 2a, 2b, and 3b have been determined.