[(C9H7)YbI(DME)(2)], the first indenyl half-sandwich complex of divalent ytterbium

The reaction of the naphthalene ytterbium(II) complex (mu -C10H8)[YbI(DME)( 2)](2) (1) with indene proved to be a convenient synthetic route to the nov el indenyl half-sandwich ytterbium(II) complex [(C9H7)YbI(DME)(2)] (2), whi ch is a monomer in the solid state and stable in DME solution, although it rearranges in THF to give the symmetric derivatives [(C9H7)(2)Yb(THF)(2)] a nd [YbI2(THF)(2)]. The reaction of 2 with equimolar amounts Of C5H5Na in DM E yields [(C5H5)(2)Yb(DME)] and [(C9H7)(2)Yb(DME)].