Syntheses, Structure, and Properties of Mixed Cp–Amidinate Rare-Earth-Metal(III) Complexes

A family of mixed Cp–amidinate rare-earth-metal(III) complexes [Cp2L1LnPhCN] (Ln = Y (1), La (2), Sm (3), Eu (4), Gd (5), Tb (6), Dy (7); L1 = PhC(NSiMe3)2), [Cp2L1Ln] (Ln = Er (8), Yb (9)), and [Cp2L2Ln] (Ln = Y (10), Eu (11), Gd (12), Tb (13), Dy (14), Er (15); L2 = N(t-Bu)C(Ph)N(SiMe3)) were synthesized by treatment of Cp3Ln with lithium amidinates. The phase transition has been observed for compounds 5 and 9 at low temperature (200 K). Single-crystal structural analyses reveal that compounds 1, 3, 4, 5b, 6, 7, 9b, and 10–15 contain two staggered Cp rings. In contrast, two eclipsed Cp rings were observed in compounds 2, 5a, 8, and 9a. Moreover, the luminescent properties of complex 6 and magnetic properties of complex 7 were also investigated.