Two-electron reductive reactivity of trivalent uranium tetraphenylborate complexes of (C5Me5)1− and (C5Me4H)1−

The reductive reactivity of the (BPh4)1− ligand in pentamethycyclopentadienyl [(C5Me5)2U][(μ-η2:η1-Ph)2BPh2] is compared with that of the tetramethyl analog, [(C5Me4H)2U][(μ-η6:η1-Ph)(μ-η1:η1-Ph)BPh2], using PhSSPh as a probe to determine if the mode of (BPh4)1− binding affected the reduction. Both complexes act as two-electron reductants to form (C5Me4R)2U(SPh)2 [R = Me, H].