Bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl Derivatives of Calcium, Strontium and Barium: Potentially Useful Dialkyls of the Heavy Alkaline Earth Elements

Getting a complex! Dialkyls of the heavier Group 2 elements Ca, Sr and Ba (see figure) are simple to synthesise with careful selection of the correct alkyl ligand and reaction conditions. The crystal structures of three bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl complexes are reported, and contain the first unsupported Sr- and Ba-to-alkyl carbon bonds.