New homoleptic tris(diphosphanylamido) complexes of the lanthanides – synthesis and structure

New homoleptic diphosphanylamido compounds of the lanthanides, [Ln{N(PPh2)2}3] (Ln = Sm, Gd, Dy), were synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction in the solid state and partly by NMR in solution. In the solid state the complexes solely show a η2-coordination of the {(Ph2P)2N}− ligand. The dependence of the Ln–N and the Ln–P bond distance on the ion radius of the center metal was investigated.