Synthesis, crystal structure, and reduction of bis(2-phenylindenyl)hafnium dichloride

Reduction of the bent-sandwich ·⁵-(Ph)Ind]₂HfCl₂ complex (1) (where (Ph) Ind is the 2-phenylindenyl anion) in a THF medium was studied by low-temperature cyclic voltammetry. Complex1 is stable in THF at a temperature lower than −50°C and undergoes reversible one-electron reduction to radical anion1 ^{. −}. Further one-electron reduction of1 ^{. −} to dianion1 ²⁻ is accompanied by the elimination of two Cl⁻ ions to form the bisindenyl sandwich ·⁵-(Ph)Ind]₂Hf complex (2). This complex can undergo reversible one-electron reduction to the corresponding radical anion2 ^{. −}, which is stable within the cyclic voltammetry time scale. AtT=−30°C in a THF solution, complex1 was reduced to a diamagnetic (apparently, binuclear) Hf^III complex, which was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. Synthesis and the crystal structure of complex1 are reported. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2161–2165, December, 1997.