LAUSR

Abstract To establish a background to the possible use of its ambidentate derivatives as stimulus-responsive ligands in functional complexes, the basic coordination chemistry of the anion derived from 4,4-dimethyl-1-phenylpentane-1,3-dione (benzoylpivaloylmethane, bpmH) has been re-examined with selected main group and transition metal M(II) and M(III) species. There is evidence that the steric bulk of the 1,3-dione substituents is not sufficient to prevent oligomerisation of the Ni(II) complex and equilibrium mixtures of geometric isomers can be detected in solution for at least the Al(III), Co(III) and Pd(II) complexes. Crystal structure determinations on both [Cu(bpm)2] and [Pd(bpm)2] show, however, that a single isomer can be isolated in the solid state.