Dimeric n-Alkyl Complexes of Rare-Earth Metals Supported by a Linked Amido−Cyclopentadienyl Ligand:  Evidence for β-Agostic Bonding in Bridging n-Alkyl Ligands and Its Role in Styrene Polymerization

The dimeric rare-earth hydrides [Ln(η^5:η^1-C_5Me_4SiMe_2NCMe_3)(THF)(μ-H)]_2 (Ln = Y, Yb) react with excess α-olefin H_2C ═ CHR (R = Et, ^nPr, ^nBu) in a 1,2-insertion to give the series of THF-free dimeric n-alkyl complexes [Ln(η^5:η^1-C_5Me_4SiMe_2NCMe_3)(μ-CH_2CH_2R)]_2 as isolable crystals. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on the five derivatives [Y(η^5:η^1-C_5Me_4SiMe_2NCMe_2R‘)(μ-CH_2CH_2R)]_2 (R‘ = Me, R = Et, ^nBu; R‘ = Et, R = Et, ^nPr) and [Yb(η^5:η^1-C_5Me_4SiMe_2NCMe_3)(μ-CH_2CH_2^nBu)]_2 revealed that the centrosymmetric dimeric complexes consist of two trans-arranged [Ln(η^5:η^1-C_5Me_4SiMe_2NCMe_2R‘)] fragments connected by two μ-alkyl ligands. Most strikingly, there…