[a] a-Diimine (1,4-diaza-1,3-butadiene) ligands are well established in main-group, transition-metal, and lanthanide chemistry. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Beside their application as ligands for latetransition-metal complexes, which can function as active and selective catalysts for a-olefin polymerization, [8] a-diimine and related ligands are of special interest due to their ability to undergo redox chemistry.[9] They have frequently been described as "non-innocent" ligands. [10][11][12] For example, in lanthanide chemistry, it has been found that the formal oxidation state of Eu [13] and Yb [14] depends on the nature of the substituents on the a-diimine ligand and on the ligand on the metal center. Thus, in both cases, the a-diimine acts either as neutral ligand or as radical anion. Reduction of adiimines, using either alkali metals or electrochemical methods, leads in each case to the corresponding radical anions [15][16][17][18] and eventually to diamagnetic dianions, [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] albeit at much more negative potentials. In contrast to the well-established chemistry of a-diimines, the related a-iminopyridines are much less investigated. The three different redox states of a-iminopyridines are shown in Scheme 1. The neutral system L 0 has been extensively used as ligand for late transition metals. [4,[25][26][27][28][29] Only recently, the monoanion LC À and the doubly reduced dianion L 2À were investigated as ligands in more detail. Recent reports showed a series of bis(a-iminopyridine)-metal complexes featuring aluminum [30] and the first-row transition ions (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn) [31,32] with the monoanionic, and thus paramagnetic p-radical form of the ligand in coordination complexes. The a-iminopyridine N-2,6-diisopropylphenylimino-2-pyridine (IPy) has also been introduced in lanthanide chemistry. [33,34] In this context, a potassium derivative of the monoanionic form of a-iminopyridine was prepared in situ, but not further characterized.[34] The doubly reduced dianion has only been observed in two magnesium complexes so far. [35] In contrast, the reaction of "GaI" with a-iminopyridine leads to reductive coupling of the coordinated ligand to give neutral diamido-digallium complexes. [36] Based on this information, we were interested in a comprehensive study of the properties of the alkali metal salts of the monoanionic p-radical and the doubly reduced dianion of a-iminopyridine in solution and in the solid state. We report here the synthesis, characterization and magnetic properties of sodium and potassium salts of the mono-and dianionic a-iminopyridines.N-2,6-Diisopropylphenylimino-2-pyridine (IPy) was prepared according to literature procedures.[37] As a first entry point, we examined the electrochemical properties of IPy using cyclic voltammetry at room temperature in THF. As can be seen from Figure 1, we detected a quasi-reversible one-electron reduction process centered at E 0 1=2 = À2.57 V (vs. the ferrocene/ferrocenium couple, Fc/Fc + ), with a peakto-peak separation of 15...