A Stable, Crystalline Beryllium Radical Cation

Abstract

The alkaline-earth elements (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) strongly favor the formation of diamagnetic compounds in the +2 oxidation state. Herein we report a paramagnetic beryllium radical cation, [(CAAC)₂Be]^+• (<b>2</b>) [CAAC = cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene], prepared by oxidation of a zero-valent beryllium complex with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO). Compound <b>2</b> was characterized by EPR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography, and DFT calculations. Notably, the isolation of <b>2</b> represents the first s-block charged radical and the first crystalline beryllium radical.