Dipyrrolide dianion [Ph2C(C4H3N)(2)](2-) readily reacts with YbCl3(THF)(3)
to form a trivalent precursor, which was further reduced by using either li
thium or sodium. The result of the reaction, was determined by the nature o
f the alkali metal since octameric anionic clusters and neutral monomeric c
omplexes were isolated in the two cases.