Zinc(II) and cadmium(II) compounds with the 2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]phenyl ligand

The compounds L2M (M = Zn, Cd; L = 2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]phenyl ligand) are obtained by reacting MCl2 with LiL. The organometallic halides have been prepared, either by a similar route (LZnCl), or by the direct electrochemical oxidation of cadmium metal in the presence of 1-bromo-2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]benzene (LCdBr). The latter can be converted to LCdMe or LCdPh. Proton nmr spectroscopy shows that both L2Zn and L2Cd undergo rapid intramolecular bond fission and formation at the M + NMe2 site. For L2Cd, studies of the Cd—C—C—H coupling show that the Cd—C6H5 bond undergoes rapid homo-exchange at room temperature.