Hydrolysis of Scandium Alkyl Derivatives Supported by a Pentadentate Diborate Ligand: Interconversion of Hydroxo and Oxo Complexes
Uncontrolled reaction of water with scandium alkyls (compounds <b>1-R</b>) supported by a dianionic, pentadentate ligand leads to rapid formation of an oxo-bridged dimer (<b>2</b>). Solid state samples can be exposed to ambient atmosphere to generate samples enriched in the bridging dihydroxo dimer <b>3</b>, which slowly converts to the m-oxo species with elimination of water. DFT computations show that <b>3</b> is actually more thermodynamically stable than <b>2</b>, but the reactivity of <b>3</b> with the water eliminated leads to its decomposition to <b>2</b> and several hydrolysis products. Some of these products were characterized by X-ray crystallography, specifically a hexameric scandium dihydroxo cluster (<b>4</b>) in which the pentadentate ligand has partially demetallated. Attempts to synthesize hydroxo complex <b>3</b> by protonation of <b>2</b> also lead to hydrolysis products.