Cyclopentadienyl Complexes of the Alkaline Earths in Light of the Periodic Trends

Chem Asian J. 2022 Jan 3;17(1):e202100962. doi: 10.1002/asia.202100962. Epub 2021 Nov 25.

Abstract

The electron-rich cyclopentadienyl and the analogous indenyl and fluorenyl ligands (collectively denoted here as Cp') have been impactful in stabilizing electron-deficient metal centers including the highly electropositive alkaline earths. Being in the s-block, the group 2 metals follow a major periodic variation in their atomic and ionic properties which is reflected in those Cp' compounds. This article presents an overview of this class of compounds for all the five metals from beryllium to barium (radium is excluded for its radioactivity), highlighting their systematic variation.

Keywords: Alkaline earths; Cyclopentadienyl; Half-sandwiches; Hapticity; Heterobimetallics; Metallocenes; ansa-Metallocenes.

Publication types

  • Review