Isocyanate diinsertion into the N-H bond of the 2-pyridylamino ligand of organolanthanides

[Cp(2)LnNHPy](2) (Py = 2-pyridyl) (1a-e) react with phenyl isocyanate to form the N-H diinsertion products Cp(2)Ln[eta(2):eta(1)-PyNCON(Ph)CONHPh](THF) (Ln = Yb (3a), Er (3b), Y (3c), Dy (3d), Gd (3e)). It has been proven that (Pr2NH)-Pr-n can abstract one PhNCO unit from 3c to form Cp2Y[eta(3)-OC(NHPh)NPy] (2c) and (Pr2NHCONHPh)-Pr-n (4), representing a rare example of selective release of a functional group of ligands in organolanthanide chemistry. Hydrolysis of 2c gives the organic nitrogen-containing product PyNHCONHPh (5). Moreover, 3c can also be obtained by the reaction of 2c with PhNCO. These results demonstrate that the diinsertion of PhN=C=O into the N-H bond of coordinated amino ligands might proceed in a stepwise manner. All the compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic properties. The structures of compounds 3a-e and 4 are also determined through X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis.