Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl rhodium and iridium complexes containing oxinato ligands

The neutral chloro complexes [(η5-C5Me5)M(η2-NC9H6O)Cl] as well as the cationic aqua complexes [(η5-C5Me5)M(η2-NC9H6O)(H2O)]+ (M = Rh, Ir) have been synthesized from the reaction of the dinuclear precursors [(η5-C5Me5)MCl2]2 and 8-hydroxyquinoline. The single crystal X-ray structure analysis of [(η5-C5Me5)Ir(η2-NC9H6O)Cl] reveals for these complexes a piano-stool arrangement with the aromatic ligand, the chelating oxinato ligand and the terminal chloro or aqua ligand surrounding the metal center in a pseudo-tetrahedral fashion.