REACTION OF AL(BU-T)(3) WITH [R2AL(MU-O(CH2)(N)NME2)](2) - DEPENDENCEON THE EXTENT OF INTRAMOLECULAR AL-CENTER-DOT-CENTER-DOT-CENTER-DOT-NCOORDINATION

Reaction of Al(Bu-t)(3) with (Bu-t)(3)Al[O(H)CH2CH2CH2NMe2] yielded th e Lewis acid-base complex [(Bu-t)(2)Al{mu-OCH2CH2CH2N(Me)(2)Al(Bu-t)(3 )}](2) 1. Compound 1 is also formed directly when 2 equivalents of Al( Bu-t)(3) reacts with 1 equivalent of [(Bu-t)(2)Al(mu-OCH2CH2CH2NMe2)]( 2). In contrast, the reaction of 2 equivalents of Al(Bu-t)(3) with 1 e quivalent of [Me2Al(mu-OCH2CH2NMe2)](2) yielded Me2Al(mu-OCH2CH2NMe2)A l(Bu-t)(3) 2. The molecular structure of compound 2 shows the AlMe2 mo iety chelate bound to the anionic bidentate ligand, while the Al(Bu-t) (3) unit is bonded to the anionic terminus of the ligand. The formatio n of compound 1 is proposed to occur via the tert-butyl analog of comp ound 2, i.e., (Bu-t)(2)Al(mu-OCH2CH2CH2NMe2)Al(Bu-t)(3), which is unst able due to significant Bu-t ...Bu-t inter-ligand interactions. The im plications of the differences in products is discussed with respect to the extent of intra-molecular Al ... N coordination in compounds of t he general formula [R2Al{mu-O(CH2)(n)NMe2}](2).