A1 atoms react with propenes and butenes in a rotating cryostat at 77 K to give a range of organoaluminium products including aluminium monoalkene complexes, n-ally1 aluminium hydrides and aluminacyclopentanes, but no P-aluminoalkyls. In addition allyls are major paramagnetic products. The,magnetic parameters of these species are reported, and possible reaction mechanisms are discussed. cis-But-2-ene is unique in that a cluster-alkene complex Al, [cis-C,H,], appears to be the major paramagnetic product.
Reactions of ground-state A1 atoms ( 3 . ~~3 ~' )with alkenes at cryogenic temperatures ( < 77 K) have been studied by product analysis and electron spin resonance spectroscopy (e.s.r.).1-6 Propene, for example, did not give isolable products, but hydrolysis with D,O, to replace each C-A1 bond with a C-D bond suggested the formation of the organoaluminium intermediate 1.ll 1 E.s.r. studies have shown that ethylene gives a monoligand complex, Al[C,H,], as the major paramagnetic product in rare gases3. * and adamantane,6 and aluminacyclopentane is a minor product in adamantane.5The structure and bonding of Al[C,H,] is still in doubt. Kasai and McLeod3-, suggested that the unpaired electron is located principally in the A1 3p, orbital and dative back-donation of this electron to the n* orbital of C,H, is responsible for the stability of this complex. We have suggested6 a CJ C-A1 bond with the possibility of the A1 atom undergoing a 1,2-shift, i.e. Al[C,H,] is fluxional and resembles aluminacyclopropane rather than B-aluminoethyl.Two mechanisms have been proposed5 for cyclodimerization of C2Hp by A1 atoms to give aluminacyclopentane. First, reaction of ethylene with A1 to give bis(ethy1ene) aluminium, 2, followed by a concerted cyclodimerization to give aluminacyclopentane :