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 epsilon-caprolactone.