Unprecedented hybrid scorpionate/phosphine ligand able to be anchored to carbosilane dendrimers.

The synthesis of a novel hybrid pyrazolate/phosphine anionic ligand [CH2=CHCH2B(CH2PPh2)(pz)2]- is described. Coordination of this ligand to metals in a fac tridentate fashion occurs in the complexes [CH2=CHCH2B(CH2PPh2)(pz)2M(cod)], prepared by reactions of the lithium salt of the ligand with [M(mu-Cl)(cod)]2 (M=Rh, Ir). They are pentacoordinated, with the rhodium complex showing a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal structure in the solid state, as determined by X-ray diffraction methods. Furthermore, the ligand has been linked to the periphery of a carbosilane dendrimer, resulting in the polyanionic dendrimer [Li(TMED)]4[Si{(CH2)3SiMe2(CH2)3B(CH2PPh2)(pz)2}4], which leads further to the corresponding metallodendrimer with four rhodium atoms.