Diverse coordination behaviors of the silyl-linked bis(amidinate) ligand [SiMe2{NC(Ph)N(Ph)}2]2− to zirconium center

The silyl-linked bis(amidinate) ligand [SiMe2{NC(Ph)N(Ph)Li(thf)2}2] presents variable coordination styles toward ZrCl4 in different stoichiometric ratios. Besides the original tetradentate configuration, the linked tris(amidinate) and silyl-linked imino-amidinate configurations will be derived after rearrangement, which is “catalyzed” by the Zr center.