Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for the First Example of an Organolanthanide(II) Compound Having an Indenyl Ligand Bonded to the Metal through the Benzo Ring in η4 Hapticity

The reaction of 2 equiv of C9H6-1-SiMe3-3-CH2CH2NC5H10 (2) with the ytterbium(III) amide [(Me3Si)2N]3Yb-(μ-Cl)Li(THF)3 produced a novel ytterbium(II) complex with an indenyl ligand bonded to the metal via the benzo ring with η4 hapticity, [η4:η2:η1-(C5H10NCH2CH2C9H5SiMe3)Li(μ-Cl)]Yb-(η5:η1-C5H10NCH2CH2C9H5SiMe3) (1), as verified by a solid-state structure determination and theoretical calculations.