Abstract:
A process is described for preparing the carbanion of the title as its sodium salt with quantitative yields and at a high level of purity, by a two-stage reaction between disodium-tetracyano-ethylene, Lewis acids and water. Metal complexes used as dyes in industrial applications are prepared from said carbanion.

Description:
PRIOR ART 
     The carbanion 1,1,2-tricyano-2-(3,4-dicyano-5-imino-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-2-ylidene) ethanide, of formula: ##STR1## which for simplicity is identified hereinafter as &#34;pyrroliminocyanin&#34;, was prepared for the first time as the tetraphenylarsonium salt (As Ph 4 )C 11  N 7  H 2  : see Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 24 (1985) 426. 
     It was subsequently found that this anion when in the presence of a bivalent metal ion isomerizes to give bis-(1,2,6,7-tetracyano-3,5-diimino-3,5-dihydro-pyrrolyzinido) metal, of formula: ##STR2## see Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 28 (1989) 1049, which describes the crystalline structure of the copper complex of pyrroliminocyanin, Cu(C 11  N 7  H 2 ) 2 . The same publication also describes the synthesis of the bivalent zinc, iron and nickel complex analogues. As in the case of the copper complex, these are centre-symmetrical planar metal complexes. 
     All these complexes are analogues both to the metal acetyl-acetonates, given the method of coordination of the ligand chelating monoanion of β type), and to tetracyanoquinodimethane, given the high substitution with cyano groups. For these reasons these complexes are important coordination compounds, useful in the synthesis of molecular materials and in heterogeneous catalysis. 
     The synthesis of pyrroliminocyanin, described in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 24 (1985) 426, has various drawbacks. Tetracyano-ethylene (C 6  N 4 ) is reacted with titanium tris-bipyridyl, which is a pyrophoric substance and therefore difficult to handle. The intermediate complex titanium-bis-bipyridyl-tetracyanoethylene is acidified to separate the desired product in the form of the tetraphenylarsonium salt. The yield is low, about 40%, and column chromatography must be used to obtain a product with an acceptable degree of purity able to give the aforesaid metal complexes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A process comprising the condensation of disodium-tetracyano-ethylene in the presence of certain Lewis acids has now been found which enables the sodium salt of pyrroliminocyanin to be obtained with practically quantitative yields. It has also been found that certain metal complexes obtained from pyrroliminocyanin are excellent dyes for industrial applications. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The condensation of the disodium-tetracyano-ethylene, which constitutes an aspect of the present invention, takes place in the presence of Lewis acids, of which the following have proved particularly suitable: silicon tetrachloride, chloromethyl-silanes, zinc chloride, aluminium chloride, titanium tri- or tetrachloride, tantalum tetrachloride, niobium pentachloride, chromium dichloride, manganese dichloride, germanium tetrachloride, molybdenum pentachloride, tungsten hexachloride, boron fluoride complexed with ethyl ether, methyltin chlorides. 
     In order to identify the Lewis acid giving the best yield in promoting the desired condensation, various tests were made on small quantities of reagents, by the following procedure: the disodium-tetracyano-ethylene (0.1 g), the solvent (tetrahydro-furan, 10 ml) and the Lewis acid (0.1 g) are enclosed in a glass vial under vacuum. The vial is then heated to 80° C. for three hours under agitation. It is left to cool to ambient temperature, then opened to the air and the contents poured into 50 ml of water. The mixture is filtered and an aqueous solution (10 ml) containing AsPh 4  Cl (0.2 g) is added to the filtrate. The pyrroliminocyanin tetraphenylarsonium precipitates in variable quantities and purities depending on the Lewis acid. 
     The preferred Lewis acids are the chloromethylsilanes. 
     The reaction proceeds in accordance with the following overall scheme: 
     
         4Na.sub.2 C.sub.6 N.sub.4 +6(CH.sub.3).sub.3 SiCl+3H.sub.2 O→2NaC.sub.11 N.sub.7 H.sub.2 +3(CH.sub.3).sub.3 SiOSi(CH.sub.3).sub.3 +6NaCl+2HCN 
    
     In reality the reaction proceeds in two stages. In the first stage the disodium-tetracyano-ethylene reacts with the Lewis acid in an organic solvent chosen from ethers (preferably anhydrous tetrahydrofuran), esters (preferably ethyl acetate), aromatics (preferably toluene) and nitriles (preferably acetonitrile). In the second stage water is added. 
     The disodium-tetracyano-ethylene is prepared, as bis-adduct with dimethoxyethane, by the method described by Webster, Mahler and Benson, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 84 (1962) 3678. The Lewis acids, including trimethylchlorosilane, are commercially available products. The pyrroliminocyanin sodium salt is thus obtained with practically quantitative yields and with sufficient purity for direct use in the synthesis of metal complexes. 
     It has also been found, and constitutes a further aspect of the present invention, that metal complexes obtainable from the pyrroliminocyanin sodium salt by reaction with metal halides in an aqueous-ether environment, can be used as dyes for plastic materials and fibres. In this respect, the metalation of the pyrroliminocyanin induces a bathochromic shift of 120 nm and an increase in the absorption coefficient of about 4 times. 
     The following examples are given as non-limiting illustration of the invention. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     Preparation of Pyrroliminocyanin Sodium Salt 
     2.94 g of the bis-adduct of Na 2  C 6  N 4  with dimethoxyethane are placed in 90 ml of freshly distilled, deoxygenated anhydrous tetrahydrofuran. 1.81 g of (CH 3 ) 3  SiCl are added to this solution, operating in a nitrogen atmosphere. The solution becomes intensely coloured firstly red and then violet. It is stirred at ambient temperature for 1 hour, then heated under reflux for 3 hours. NaCl precipitates on cooling to ambient temperature. The solvent and excess (CH 3 ) 3  SiCl are eliminated by evaporation under vacuum. The residue is taken up in acetone and the NaCl filtered off. At this point the precaution of operating under nitrogen is no longer necessary. 10 ml of water are added to the violet acetone solution and the water and hexamethyldisiloxane are evaporated under vacuum to obtain a dark green microcrystalline solid of composition NaC 11  N 7  H 2 .2H 2  O with quantitative yield and of sufficient purity for direct use in the synthesis of metal complexes. 
     If, after cooling to ambient temperature in the aforesaid procedure, 100 ml of an aqueous solution containing 1.75 g of tetraphenylarsonium chloride As(C 6  H 5 ) 4  Cl are added to the violet tetrahydrofuran solution after evaporation in air until the solution is decolorized, a golden microcrystalline precipitate is obtained, which is filtered off and recrystallized from 1:1 acetone/water by slow evaporation in air. In this manner 2.18 g of As(C 6  H 5 ) 4  C 11  N 7  H 2  are obtained with I.R and U.V spectroscopic properties identical to those of the product described in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 24 (1985) 426. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     Preparation of the Copper Complex of Pyrroliminocyanin 
     2 g of NaC 11  N 7  H 2 .2H 2  O prepared in accordance with Example 1 are dissolved in 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran. 100 ml of an aqueous solution containing 7 g of CuCl 2 .2H 2  O are added to the violet solution. The colour of the solution changes immediately from violet to blue. The aqueous solution is allowed to evaporate in air, and when it has reduced to one half its initial volume 2,5 g of Cu(C 11  N 7  H 2 ) 2 .2THF precipitate, this having spectroscopic properties identical to those of the product 4c of which structure was resolved with X-rays, as described in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 28 (1989) 1050. The bivalent complexes of nickel and cobalt are prepared in like manner. 
     Zinc, manganese and iron complexes are also prepared in like manner, however it is necessary to operate in an anhydrous environment (anhydrous tetrahydrofuran under nitrogen), using the respective anhydrous metal dichlorides as starting materials. In this case it is also necessary to recrystallize the reaction products to separate them from the sodium chloride.