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Niobocene dichloride is the organometallic compound with the formula (C5H5)2NbCl2, abbreviated Cp2NbCl2. This paramagnetic brown solid is a starting reagent for the synthesis of other organoniobium compounds. The compound adopts a pseudotetrahedral structure with two cyclopentadienyl and two chloride substituents attached to the metal. A variety of similar compounds are known, including Cp2TiCl2.

Preparation and structure

It was originally reported by Geoffrey Wilkinson.[2] It is prepared via a multistep reaction beginning with treatment of niobium pentachloride with cyclopentadienylsodium:[3]

NbCl5 + 5 NaC5H5 → 5 NaCl + (C5H5)4Nb + "C5H5"
2 (C5H5)4Nb + 4 HCl + 0.5 O2 → [(C5H5)2NbCl]2OCl2 + 4 C5H6
[(C5H5)2NbCl]2OCl2 + SnCl2 + 2 HCl → 2 (C5H5)2NbCl2 + SnCl4 + H2O

The compound adopts a "clamshell" structure characteristic of a bent metallocene where the Cp rings are not parallel, the average Cp(centroid)-M-Cp angle being about 130.3°. The Cl-Nb-Cl angle of 85.6° is narrower than in zirconocene dichloride (97.1°) but wider than in molybdocene dichloride (82°). This trend is consistent with the orientation of the HOMO in this class of complex.[4]

Applications and further work

Unlike the related zirconacene and titanocene dichlorides, no applications have been found for this compound, although it has been studied widely. It was investigated as a potential anti-cancer agent.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Bis(cyclopentadienyl)niobium(IV) dichloride". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  2. ^ Wilkinson, G.; Birmingham, J. G. (1954). "Bis-cyclopentadienyl Compounds of Ti, Zr, V, Nb and Ta". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 76 (17): 4281–4284. doi:10.1021/ja01646a008.
  3. ^ C. R. Lucas (2007). "Dichlorobis(η 5 -Cyclopentadienyl) Niobium(IV)". Inorganic Syntheses. Vol. 28. pp. 267–270. doi:10.1002/9780470132593.ch68. ISBN 978-0-471-52619-3. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  4. ^ K. Prout, T. S. Cameron, R. A. Forder, and in parts S. R. Critchley, B. Denton and G. V. Rees "The crystal and molecular structures of bent bis-π-cyclopentadienyl-metal complexes: (a) bis-π-cyclopentadienyldibromorhenium(V) tetrafluoroborate, (b) bis-π-cyclopentadienyldichloromolybdenum(IV), (c) bis-π-cyclopentadienylhydroxomethylaminomolybdenum(IV) hexafluorophosphate, (d) bis-π-cyclopentadienylethylchloromolybdenum(IV), (e) bis-π-cyclopentadienyldichloroniobium(IV), (f) bis-π-cyclopentadienyldichloromolybdenum(V) tetrafluoroborate, (g) μ-oxo-bis[bis-π-cyclopentadienylchloroniobium(IV)] tetrafluoroborate, (h) bis-π-cyclopentadienyldichlorozirconium" Acta Crystallogr. 1974, volume B30, pp. 2290–2304. doi:10.1107/S0567740874007011
  5. ^ Mokdsi, G.; Harding, M. M. (2001). "A1H NMR study of the Interaction of Antitumor Metallocenes with Glutathione". J. Inorg. Biochem. 86 (2–3): 611–616. doi:10.1016/S0162-0134(01)00221-5. PMID 11566334.
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