Carbyne complexes defined

When the reaction was attempted with Cl2C=IrCl3(PPh3)2 a crystalline solid, which was a green color typical of osmium carbyne complexes, could be observed at -78°C, but attempts to characterize this solid at room temperature were unsuccessful (39). No well-defined carbyne complexes of iridium have been reported to date. 

In this review, well-defined metal-containing PAEs are described whose primary structure is represented by one of the schematic drawings A-C and E shown in Fig. 2. In contrast to the structures shown in the A-C systems, E has a conjugated phenyleneethynylene with metal chelates as end groups. PAEs containing metal complex as side groups (D) have, up to now, not been described in the literature. The classes of compounds such as metal-bridged alkynes, the poly(metallayne)s, and polymer carbyne complexes (structures G and H) do not in fact represent PAEs. 

In the early 1980s, Schrock prepared a series of tungsten- and molybdenum-based carbyne complexes, and demonstrated that they are viable catalysts for performing stoichiometric and catalytic alkyne metathesis [7]. With the defined carbyne complexes, he laid the foundation for the mechanistic understanding of alkyne metathesis, and was the first to demonstrate that vinyl-substituted carbyne complexes are stable [8] and that alkyne metathesis could be performed in the presence of C=C double bonds. 

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