A magnesium complex containing a reduced 2,2′-bipyridyl ligand: Synthesis, structure, reactivity, and computational studies

Abstract The reduction of [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]MgBr ( 1 ) with potassium graphite in the presence of 2,2’-bipyridine (bipy) gives a reduced 2,2’-bipyridyl magnesium complex [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]Mg(bipy) ( 2 ) in good yield. Complex 2 is a useful electron transfer reagent as demonstrated by its reactivity with azobenzene, diphenyl disulphide, diphenyl diselenide and Ph 2 CS, yielding the azobenzenyl radical magnesium complex [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]Mg(PhNNPh)(THF) ( 3 ), magnesium thiolate [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]Mg(SPh)(bipy) ( 4 ), magnesium selenolate [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]Mg(SePh)(bipy) ( 5 ), and radical substitution compound [HC(C(Me)N-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 ]Mg[(bipy)(SCPh 2 )] ( 6 ), in good yields. Moreover, the density functional theory (DFT) studies have been undertaken to rationalize the forming process of compound 6 .