Ansa-tris(allyl) complexes of alkali metals: tripodal analogues of cyclopentadienyl and ansa-metallocene ligands

Alkali metal complexes of two types of ansa-tris(allyl) ligand are reported; a monoanionic ansa-tris(allyl) ligand containing tin(II) is formally valence isoelectronic to the cyclopentadienyl ligand and a trianionic ansa-tris(allyl) ligand containing silicon(IV) is formally valence isoelectronic to an ansa-metallocene ligand; the potential wider use of these tripodal ligands in coordination chemistry is discussed.