The collaborative efforts of the Bart and Schatz groups, from Purdue University and Northwestern University, respectively, have led to the publication of a new manuscript in the journal Organometallics. Congratulations to our CSSM members on a job well done! The publication focuses on the synthesis and characterization of the first series of tellurium and selenium complexes featuring an η5-cyclopentadienyl ligand. Each compound was characterized by X-ray crystallography, revealing similar η5-coordination with little distortion from an idealized half-sandwich
geometry, presumably from the remaining lone pair on tellurium and selenium. Several of the compounds display rapid decomposition at room temperature, extruding a phenylated cyclopentadiene and the respective diphenylchalcogenide. The nature of bonding within these complexes was investigated through DFT methods and found to be primarily ionic in nature.
