A solid-state 39K and 13C NMR study of polymeric potassium metallocenes

The quadrupolar Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (QCPMG) and double frequency sweep (DFS)/QCPMG pulse sequences are applied in order to acquire the first solid-state 39K NMR spectra of organometallic complexes, the polymeric main group metallocenes cyclopentadienyl potassium (CpK) and pentamethylcyclopentadienyl potassium (Cp*K). Piecewise QCPMG NMR techniques are used to acquire a high S/N 39K spectrum of the broad central transition of Cp*K, which is ca. 200 kHz in breadth. Analytical and numerical simulations indicate that there is a significant quadrupolar interaction present at both potassium nuclei (C(Q)(39K) = 2.55(6)/2.67(8) MHz and 4.69(8) MHz for CpK (static/MAS) and Cp*K, respectively). Experimental quadrupolar asymmetry parameters suggest that both structures are bent about the potassium atoms (eta(Q)(39K) = 0.28(3)/0.29(3) for CpK (static/MAS) and eta(Q)(39K) = 0.30(3) for Cp*K). Variable-temperature (VT) 39K NMR experiments on CpK elucidate temperature-dependent changes in quadrupolar parameters which can be rationalized in terms of alterations of bond distances and angles with temperature. 13C CP/MAS NMR experiments are conducted upon both samples to quantify the carbon chemical shielding anisotropy (CSA) at the Cp' ring carbon atoms. Ab initio carbon CSA and 39K electric-field gradient (EFG) and CSA calculations are conducted and discussed for the CpK complex, in order to correlate the experimental NMR parameters with molecular structure in CpK and Cp*K. 39K DFS/QCPMG and 13C CP/MAS experiments prove invaluable for probing molecular structure, temperature-dependent structural changes, and the presence of impurities in these systems.