Metal amides

Amide ligands may participate in metal-ligand π-bonding giving a complex with the metal center being co-planar with the nitrogen and substituents.

They are prepared from n-butyllithium and the appropriate amine The lithium amides are more common and more soluble than the other alkali metal analogs.

[3][4] The sodium compound is white, but the presence of metallic iron turns the commercial material gray.

Lithium diisopropylamide is a popular non-nucleophilic base used in organic synthesis.

In some cases, two equivalents of a secondary amine can be used, one equivalent serving as a base:[6] Transition metal amide complexes have been prepared by these methods:[6] Highly cationic metal ammine complexes such as [Pt(NH3)6]4+ spontaneously convert to the amido derivative: Transition metal amides are intermediates in the base-induced substitution of transition metal ammine complexes.