Divalent Samarium Compounds with Heavier Chalcogenolate (EPh; E = Se, Te) Ligands

Crystalline coordination complexes of Sm(EPh)2 (E = Se, Te) are described. The selenolate compound Sm(SePh)2
is unstable in solution, but a divalent selenolate can be prepared and isolated when precisely 1 equiv of Zn(SePh)2
is present to form heterometallic [(THF)3Sm(μ2-SePh)3Zn(μ2-SePh)]n (1). This compound is a 1D coordination
polymer with alternating Sm(II) and Zn(II) ions connected by an alternating (1,3) number of bridging selenolate
ligands and three THF ligands bound to each Sm(II) ion. The tellurolate Sm(TePh)2 forms a stable pyridine
coordination compound (py)5Sm(TePh)2 (2) that is isostructural with known Eu and Yb benzenetellurolates. Both
compounds were characterized by conventional spectroscopic methods. Polymer 1 was characterized by low-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the unit cell of the tellurolate was determined. Crystal data (Mo
Kα, 153(5) K) are as follows. 1:  monoclinic space group P21, a = 10.666(2) Å, b = 16.270(3) Å, c = 12.002(3)
Å, β = 114.81(2)°, Z = 2. 2:  orthorhombic space group Pbca, with a = 13.865(3) Å, b = 16.453(5) Å, c =
31.952(7) Å, Z = 8.