Salts of the two-coordinate homoleptic manganese(I) dialkyl anion [Mn{C(SiMe3)(3)}(2)](-) with quenched orbital magnetism

The reduction of Mn{C(SiMe3)(3)}(2) with KC8 in the presence of crown ethers yielded the d(6), Mn(I) salts [K-2(18-crown-6)(3)][Mn{C(SiMe3)(3)}(2)](2) and [K(15-crown-5)(2)][Mn{C(SiMe3)(3)}(2)], that have near-linear manganese coordination but almost completely quenched orbital magnetism as a result of 4s-3d(z)(2) orbital mixing which affords a non-degenerate ground state.