The formation of closely packed fullerene structures in η2-coordination Ni0(Me3P)3(η2-fullerene) complexes of C60 and C70

Reduction of NiII(Me3P)2Cl2 by sodium amalgam in DMF produces reduction products whose interaction with fullerenes C60 and C70 with subsequent precipitation by n-hexane produce crystalline Ni(Me3P)3(η2-C60) (1) and Ni(Me3P)3(η2-C70) (2). Complexes have dense 3D hexagonal packing of C60 in 1 and the C70 layers in 2. Both complexes are molecular ones but the presence of low-energy metal-to-fullerene charge transfer bands shows the existence of closely lying excited ionic states in 1 and 2.193