Analogy of the Coordination Chemistry of Alkaline Earth Metal and Lanthanide Ln²⁺ Ions: The Isostructural Zoo of Mixed Metal Cages [IM(OtBu)₄{Li(thf)}₄(OH)] (M=Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu), [MM′₆(OPh)₈(thf)₆] (M=Ca, Sr, Ba, Sm, Eu, M′=Li, Na), and their Derivatives with 1,2‐Dimethoxyethane

As previously shown, alkali and alkaline earth metal iodides in nonaqueous, aprotic solvents behave like transition metal halides, forming cis- and trans-dihalides with various neutral O-donor ligands. These compounds can be used as precursors for the synthesis of new mixed alkali/alkaline earth metal aggregates. We show here that Ln2+ ions form isostructural cluster compounds. Thus, with LiOtBu, 50% of the initial iodide can be replaced in MI2, M=Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu, to generate the mixed-metal alkoxide aggregates [IM(OtBu)4{Li(thf)}4(OH)], for which the M--OH contacts were investigated by theoretical methods. With M'OPh (M'=Li, Na), a new mixed-metal aryloxide cluster type [MM'6(OPh)8(thf)6] is obtained for M=Ca, Sr, Ba, Sm, Eu. Their stability versus DME (DME=1,2-dimethoxyethane) as bidentate ligand is studied.