Versatile Bulky N,N′,N′-Substituted 1,2-Ethanediamine Ligands and Their Lithium, Aluminium, and Gallium Derivatives

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/ejic.201601355

Sterically demanding N,N′,N′-substituted 1,2-ethanediamine ligands have been prepared from commercially available starting materials by applying a facile one-step procedure. These ligands offer advantages compared to known systems: a suppressed delocalization due to the saturated backbone inhibits a noninnocent behaviour and the low symmetry of the related metal complexes makes them potential candidates for asymmetric catalysis. The ligands are readily transformed into the corresponding lithium derivatives 4, which in turn act as starting materials to access the corresponding aluminium and gallium dichlorides 5 and 6, respectively. In addition, deprotonation by Al(CH₃)₃gives rise to the related dimethylalane 7. All main-group element compounds have been studied by means of single X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic methods.