Addition of Ethylene or Hydrogen to a Main-Group Metal Cluster under Mild Conditions

Reaction of the tin cluster Sn8(Ar Me 6)4 (Ar Me 6=C6H2-2,6-(C6H3-2,4,6-Me3)2) with excess ethylene or dihydrogen at 25 °C/1 atmosphere yielded two new clusters that incorporated ethylene or hydrogen. The reaction with ethylene yielded Sn4(Ar Me 6)4(C2H2)5 that contained five ethylene moieties bridging four aryl substituted tin atoms and one tin–tin bond. Reaction with H2 produced a cyclic tin species of formula (Sn(H)Ar Me 6)4, which could also be synthesized by the reaction of {(Ar Me 6)Sn(μ-Cl)}2 with DIBAL-H. These reactions represent the first instances of direct reactions of isolable main-group clusters with ethylene or hydrogen under mild conditions. The products were characterized in the solid state by X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy and in solution by multinuclear NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopies. Density functional theory calculations were performed to explain the reactivity of the cluster.