Heteroleptic [n]chromoarenophanes: ansa complexes derived from [Cr(η(5)-C5H5)(η(6)-C6H6)].

The synthesis of ansa complexes has been studied intensively owing to their importance as homogeneous catalysts and as precursors of metal-containing polymers. However, paramagnetic non-metallocene derivatives are rare and have been limited to examples with vanadium and titanium. Herein, we report an efficient procedure for the selective dilithiation of paramagnetic sandwich complex [Cr(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(η(6)-C(6)H(6))], which allows the preparation of a series of [n]chromoarenophanes (n = 1, 2, 3) that feature silicon, germanium, and tin atoms at the bridging positions.