Actinide Amidinate Complexes with a Dimethylamine Side Arm: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, and Reactivity

The reactivity of monoanionic amidinate
ligands containing a dimethylamine side arm with variable lengths
of the linker chain and aromatic substituents of the ipso carbon atom
was investigated for the early actinides thorium and uranium. The
bis­(amidinate) actinide complexes obtained were structurally characterized,
displaying a coordination of both dimethylamine nitrogen atoms to
the respective metal center, allowing for a fine tuning of the reactivity
of the complex by manipulation of the coordination environment around
the metal center. The reactivity of the actinide amidinate complexes
was studied in the catalytic ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone.