'19Sn Mossba~~er spectra have been recorded for sixteen acetylacetonates of the type R2-.CI,SnL2 (R = Me, Ph; L = anions of acetylacetone or s~~bstituted acetylacetone) and CI,SnHL. The q~radr~rpole splittings have been ~~s e d to assign stereochemistry for most of these compounds. The good correlation between q~radrupole splitting and center shift for the dimethyl analog~~es shows that there is no appreciable Sn 5s character in the Sn-L bonds. T h e correlation between 'J~I~,.-,,,, and center shift for the dirnethyl compo~rnds is consistent with the above interpretation, and indicates that changes in [Y(O),,]' are dominant in determining both the center shift and J val~res for these compo~rnds. The Mossba~rer parameters for the compo~rnds containing a n e~~t r a l ligand show that the bonding properties of HL are very similar to those of L.The dimethyl compounds all show a prono~rnced Goldanskii Karyagin asylnn~etry in their spectra. The direction of this asymmetry is shown to be consistent with a positive q u a d r~~p o l e splitting for all the dimethyl compounds.Les spectres de I'effet Mossbauer du ' ' 3 n ont etC enregistres po~rr seize acetylacetonates d u type R2-,CI,SnLZ (R = Me, Ph; L = anions de I'acetylacetone ou de I'ncetylacetone s~~b -stituke) et CI,SnHL. Les multiplicitts quadr~~polaires ont ete utilisees pour attrib~rer la stereochimie de la plupart de ces con~posCs. La bonne correlation cntre la rnultiplicite q~radrupolaire et le dtplacement ~L I centre po~rr les analogues du dirnethyle montre qu'il n'y a pas de caractere Sn 5s appreciable dans les liens Sn-L. La correlation entre 'JI19,,,-,,,, et le deplacement ~L I centre pour les coniposes din.~ethyles est compatible avec I'interpretation precedcnte; elle i n d i q~~e que les changements dans [y~(0),.]' sont dominants p o~~r la determination du diplacement d~r centre et des va!eurs de J de ces con~poses. Les parametres de I'elTet Mossba~~cr po~rr les cornposes contenant Lrn ligand neutre montrent que les propriktes de liaison de HL sont ires similaires 6 celles de L.Les coniposCs dimethyles montrent tous Lrne asymetrie marq~ree de Goldanskii-Karyagin dans leur spectre. II est rnontre que la direction de cette asymetrie est compatible avcc Line n l~~l t iplicite d'un quadrupole positif pour taus les colnposes din1etIiylCs.[ T r a d~~i t par le jo~lrnal]Can. J. Chem., 52, 1361 (1974) Introduction A recent structural determination of Me,Sn(acac), (1) confirms the trans-structure proposed from Mossbauer quadrupole splittings (2). However, there is still controversy over the structures of related compounds. For example, McGrady and Tobias (3) assigned the transconfiguration to Ph,Sn(acac),, whereas Mossbauer quadrupole splittings (2) strongly suggested the cis-structure. Also, the mixed Me, Cl and Ph, Cl complexes have been assigned the trans-structure in solution (4), whereas recent n.m.r. studies (5) strongly suggest that these compounds and Ph,Sn(acac), have the cisconfiguration. A recent X-ray report also gives the cis-configuration for C...