Three 2-oxazolinyl rings on one quaternary carbon atom: preparation of a novel tripodal tris(oxazolinyl) ligand and the tetrameric molecular structure of its CuI complex.

Reaction of the lithium salt of 1,1-bis[2-(4,4-dimethyl)oxazolinyl]ethane (1) with 2-bromo-4,4-dimethyloxazoline yielded the novel tripodal ligand, 1,1,1-tris[2-(4,4-dimethyl)-oxazolinyl]ethane (trisox-Me2 2) which was reacted with one mol equivalent of [Cu(NCCH3)4](BF4) in dichloromethane to give [Cu(trisox-Me2)]n(BF4)n (3); while monomeric in solution, an X-ray diffraction study of 3 established a cyclic, centrosymmetric tetramer in the solid state.