The solid state structures of alkali metal complexes of the 1,3,6,8-tetra-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl ((t)Bu4carb(-)) ligand are compared. Lithium complex [(t)Bu4carbLi]2 ([1]2) is a dimer in the solid state featuring a planar LiNLiN rhomboid ring, with the differing Li-N distances within the ring due to the effects of σ- and π-interactions. Recrystallization of lithium, sodium, and potassium complexes of the 1,3,6,8-tetra-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl ligand from THF leads to the formation of (t)Bu4carbLi(THF)2 (1·2THF), (t)Bu4carbNa(THF)3 (2·3THF), and (t)Bu4carbK(THF)4 (3·4THF), respectively, in the solid state. For these THF adducts, on proceeding from lithium to sodium to potassium there is an increase in hapticity of the binding of the carbazol-9-yl ligands to the metal cations, mirroring the increasing ionic bonding character in these compounds.

The synthesis and characterisation of low-coordinate zinc and cadmium complexes of the sterically demanding 1,3,6,8-tetra-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl ligand ((t)Bu(4)carb(-)) are reported. ((t)Bu(4)carb)(2)M (M = Zn 1; M = Cd 2) are the first examples of formally two-coordinate bis-carbazol-9-yl complexes of the Group 12 metals and 2 is the first crystallographically characterised two-coordinate amido complex of cadmium. The structure and bonding within these complexes are explored via a combination of X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations. The solid state structures for these zinc and cadmium complexes differ greatly from each other; not only do the steric demands of the peripheral tert-butyl substituents in these systems act to inhibit solvent coordination, but they also influence the coordination geometry around the metal centres.