Pentanuclear Complexes for a Series of Alkylzinc Carboxylates

In contrast to previously reported alkylzinc carboxylates based on aryl carboxylates, the reaction between diethylzinc and a series of zinc bis(alkyl carboxylate)s yields complexes with a ligand stoichiometry of carboxylate to ethyl of 3:2. The analytical data, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction, indicate that, for “ethylzinc acetate”, the product is an unusual pentameric complex of the form [Zn5(OAc)6(Et)4].