Preference for bridging versus terminal ligands in magnesium dimers

Abstract

Magnesium dimers play important roles in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. This study evaluates the inherent bridging ability of a range of different ligands in magnesium dimers. In the first part, the Cambridge Structural Database is interrogated to establish the frequency of different types of ligands found in bridging versus terminal positions in two key structural motifs: one in which there are two bridging ligands (the D 2h "Mg2(μ-X2)" structure); the other in which there are three bridging ligands (the C 3v "Mg2(μ-X3)" structure). The most striking finding from the database search is the overwhelming preference for magnesium dimers possessing two bridging ligands. The most common..