The ligating ability of functionalised diaminodimethylsilanes towards zirconium(IV)

The functionalised diaminodimethylsilanes SiMe2[NH-(CH2)nX]2 (X = NMe2, n = 2, H2L1; n = 3, H2L2; X = OMe, n = 2, H2L3; n = 3, H2L4) have been synthesised by aminolysis ofSiMe2Cl2 with NH2(CH2)nX, and their ligating ability towards zirconium(iv) has been investigated. The syntheses of [ZrY2(L)] (Y = Cl, NMe2, Me; L = L1, L2, L3, L4) are reported and the solid-state structures of some selected compounds determined by X-ray crystallography. In addition, the solution molecular structures of all the metal derivatives have been elucidated by variable-temperature multinuclear 1D/2D NMR spectroscopy, and the dynamics have been investigated in some selected cases.