Synthesis and structural characterization of (COT)Pr(C13H8CH2CH2OMe)(THF) containing the chelating 9-(2-methoxyethyl)fluorenyl ligand

Treatment of 9-(2-methoxyethyl)fluorene, C13H9CH2CH2OMe (1), with potassium hydride in THF/toluene in the presence of 18-crown-6 afforded orange-red crystalline K(18-crown-6)C13H8CH2CH2OMe (2) in 59% yield. A “constrained geometry”-type praseodymium complex containing the 9-(2-methoxyethyl)fluorenyl ligand, (COT)Pr(C13H8CH2CH2OMe)(THF) (3), was prepared by treatment of dimeric [(COT)Pr(μ-Cl)(THF)2]2 (COT = η8-cyclooctatetraenyl) with in situ prepared KC13H8CH2CH2OMe. The molecular structures of 1, 2, and 3 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.