[SmO(cbz)(thf)]·2CH: A Polynuclear Samarium Oxo Cluster Obtained from Carbazole-Driven Oxidation of Samarium Nanoparticles.

Zerovalent samarium nanoparticles (1.7 ± 0.2 nm in size) are used as the starting material to prepare single crystals of the novel polynuclear samarium oxo cluster [SmO(cbz)(thf)]·2CH. The reaction is performed by oxidation with carbazole (CbzH) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 50 °C with subsequent crystallization in toluene (CH). The oxo cluster contains noncharged molecular units with a central SmO core. Single-crystal structure analysis and infrared spectroscopy confirm the oxidation of CbzH with the formation of (cbz). Polynuclear carbazole complexes are generally rare and here prepared using metal nanoparticles as a reactive starting material for the first time. The reaction with CbzH as a sterically demanding ligand exemplarily shows the feasibility of rare-earth-metal nanoparticles for obtaining new compounds with complex composition and structure.