A fluoro-bridged dinuclear nickel(II) compound from tetrafluoroborate precursor: making sense of a serendipitous reaction

Abstract

Reaction of [Ni(CH₃CN)₆][BF₄]₂ with [{(5,7-dimethyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2-yl)amino}carbonyl]ferrocene (L) in acetonitrile affords [Ni^II₂(μ-F)₂(L)₄][BF₄]₂ (1). X-ray structure reveals a fluoro-bridged Ni₂F₂ core with each Ni additionally coordinated to four N atoms from the two chelating ligands. The molecular mass signal is observed at m/z (z = 2) 848 in the ESI-MS. It is believed that the bimetallic activation of BF₄^-, followed by the trifluoroborane exclusion aided by the ligand L, results in the formation of (1). The NH∙∙∙F interactions play an important role in the formation and stabilization of compound (1).