Decachlorocyclopentasilanes coordinated by pairs of chloride anions, with different cations, but the same solvent molecules

We have determined the crystal structures of two decachlorocyclopentasilanes, namely bis(tetra- n -butylammonium) dichloride decachlorocyclopentasilane dichloromethane disolvate, 2C 16 H 36 N + ·2Cl − ·Si 5 Cl 10 ·2CH 2 Cl 2 , (I), and bis(tetraethylammonium) dichloride decachlorocyclopentasilane dichloromethane disolvate, 2C 8 H 20 N + ·2Cl − ·Si 5 Cl 10 ·2CH 2 Cl 2 , (II), both of which crystallize with discrete cations, anions, and solvent molecules. In (I), the complete decachlorocyclopentasilane ring is generated by a crystallographic twofold rotation axis. In (II), one cation is located on a general position and the other two are disordered about centres of inversion. These are the first structures featuring the structural motif of a five-membered cyclopentasilane ring coordinated from both sides by a chloride ion. The extended structures of (I) and (II) feature numerous C—H...Cl interactions. In (II), the N atoms are located on centres of inversion and as a result, the ethylene chains are disordered over equally occupied orientations.