What in the world is a Salen Ligand?

What is salen? (don’t worry, this article starts off on a bit of a tangent on the background of salen complexes before we actually make some. this is still a synthesis writeup in the end and you will see these pretty coordination compounds just a few paragraphs away) Salen is the contracted name of N,N′-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine, which is a compound made by condensation of sal icylaldehyde…