Indenyl zirconium dinitrogen chemistry: N2 coordination to an isolated zirconium sandwich and synthesis of side-on, end-on dinitrogen compounds.

Exposure of the isolable zirconocene sandwich compounds, (eta(5)-C5Me5)(eta(5)-C9H5-1-R(1)-3-R(2))Zr (R(1) = Me, (i)Pr, (t)Bu; R(2) = Me) to one atmosphere of dinitrogen resulted in N2 coordination. X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy establish that the resulting dimeric dinitrogen compounds contain an unusual mu2,eta(2)-bridging indenyl ring and a weakly activated N2 ligand. N2 coordination from the isolable zirconium sandwich compounds is extremely sensitive to the number and size of the indenyl subsituents. Compounds bearing two [(i)Pr] or three methyl substituents are stable as eta(9) sandwich compounds for weeks under dinitrogen likely due to the inability to dimerize through a two-atom N2 bridge. Performing the reduction of (eta(5)-C5Me5)(eta(5)-C9H5-1-R(1)-3-R(2))ZrCl2 (R(1) = (i)Pr, (t)Bu; R(2) = Me; R(1) = R(2) = SiMe3) under an N2 atmosphere produced a different outcome; rare examples of side-on, end-on zirconium dinitrogen compounds were isolated and in one case, crystallographically characterized. Protonolysis studies with weak Brønsted acids were used to evaluate the relative activation of the bridging dinitrogen ligands.