Facile Insertion of N₂O into Metal−Carbon Bonds of Metallocene Allyl Complexes to Form (RN₂O)⁻ Ligands

Attempts to generate a scandium metallocene oxide using N2O have revealed that N2O undergoes facile insertion into metal−carbon bonds of allyl metallocene complexes to form (RN2O)− ligands where R = C3H5. This has been demonstrated in reactions with the tetramethylcyclopentadienyl allyl complexes (C5Me4H)2M(η3-C3H5) (M = Sc, Y) and the pentamethylcyclopentadienyl allyl compounds (C5Me5)2M(η3-C3H5) (M = Y, Sm, La), which generate the insertion products [(C5Me4H)2M(μ-η1:η2-ONNC3H5)]2 (M = Sc, 1; Y, 2) and [(C5Me5)2M(μ-η1:η2-ONNC3H5)]2 (M = Y, 3; Sm, 4; La, 5), respectively.