Unlocking metal coordination of diborylamides through ring constraints

A cyclic lithium diborylamide compound was synthesized and crystallographically characterized, revealing strong Li-N bonding in sharp contrast to previous linear diborylamides. Two iron( ii ) diborylamide complexes were also synthesized, including a 2-coordinate Fe bis(diborylamide) complex. The present cyclic diborylamide represents a new addition to the growing scope of amide ligands. A new cyclic diborylamide ligand has been developed and successfully employed to synthesize low-coordinate iron( ii ) complexes.