A base-free synthetic route to anti-bimetallic lanthanide pentalene complexes

We report the synthesis and structural characterisation of three homobimetallic complexes featuring divalent lanthanide metals (Ln = Yb, Eu and Sm) bridged by the silylated pentalene ligand [1,4-{SiiPr3}2C8H4]2- (= Pn†). Magnetic measurements and cyclic voltammetry have been used to investigate the extent of intermetallic communication in these systems, in the context of molecular models for organolanthanide based conducting materials.