Bis[bis-(penta-methyl-cyclo-penta-dien-yl)cobalt(III)] tetra-chlorido-cobaltate(II) di-chloro-methane disolvate.

The title compound, [Co(C10H15)2]2[CoCl4]·2CH2Cl2, was isolated as a dichloromethane solvate and was formed in the reaction between lithium pentamethylcyclopentadienide and anyhydrous cobalt(II) chloride in tetrahydrofuran. There are two decamethylcobaltocenium cations, one tetrachloridocobaltate(II) anion and two dichloromethane solvent molecules in the formula unit. There is a slight disorder of the dichloromethane solvent which was treated with a two-site model [occupancy rates = 0.765 (4) and 0.235 (4)]. The dichloromethane molecules display significant C-HCl interactions with the tetrachloridocobaltate(II) dianion. The cobalt atom of the decamethylcobaltocenium cation sits on a twofold rotation axis, with only one pentamethylcyclopentadiene ligand being unique and the second generated by symmetry. The cobalt atom of the [CoCl4]-2 ion sits on a special site with -4 symmetry, with one unique chloride ligand and the others generated by the fourfold inversion axis.