Anion-induced disproportionation of Th(III) complexes to form Th(II) and Th(IV) products.

A new synthesis of Th(II) complexes has been identified involving addition of simple MX salts (M = Li, Na, K; X = H, Cl, Me, N 3 ) to Cp'' 3 Th III [Cp'' = [C 5 H 3 (SiMe 3 ) 2 ] in the presence of 18-crown-6 or 2.2.2-cryptand, forming [M(chelate)][Cp'' 3 Th II ] and Cp'' 3 Th IV X. Cp tet 3 Th III (Cp tet = C 5 Me 4 H) reacts with KH to form Cp tet 3 Th IV H and the C-H bond activation product, [K(crypt)]{[Cp tet 2 Th IV H[η 1 :η 5 -C 5 Me 3 H(CH 2 )]}.