Dioxygen reacts with metal-carbon bonds in thorium dialkyls to produce bis(alkoxides)

Exposure of bis-amidinate and -guanidinate supported thorium dialkyl complexes to dioxygen results in facile oxygen atom insertion and formation of the corresponding thorium bis(alkoxide) species. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest a radical propagation mechanism is operative. All new complexes were fully characterized by H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy, IR, EA and X-ray crystallography.