Imidazol-4-ylidene

Imidazol-2-ylidene and its N,N -disubstituted derivatives as stable carbenes 99ACR913. 

One method to transform imidazolium salts (00AGE3773) into carbene ligands, imidazol-2-ylidenes, is by deprotonation with sodium hydride or other suitable hydride in a mixture of THE and liquid ammonia (73JCS(D)514, 96CEJ1627, 98IC6412). 

JOM(586)263, 99OM2370, 990M5375). Other imidazol-2-ylidene ruthenium compounds are also known (99TL2247, 99TL4787). 

Reaction of l,3-bis(phenylmethyl)imidazol-2-ylidene with nickel tetra carbonyl gives [(t (C)-1,3-bis(phenylmethyl)imidazol-2-ylidene)Ni(CO)3] (970M2472). Complexes of composition [Ni(CO)2L2] with imidazol-2-ylidenes are also known (93JOM(459)177). Another species to be mentioned in this respect is bis(l,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene)nickel(0) (94JA4391). 1,3-Dicyclohexylimidazol-2-yUdene substitutes triphenylphosphine or THF from [NiX LJ (X = Cl, Br L PPhj, THF) to yield the stable nickel(II) complexes 69 (X = C1, Br R = Cy) (97OM2209). Another preparation of nickel(II) derivatives is the interaction of... 

Co-condensation reaction of the vapors of l,3-di-rcrt-butylimidazol-2-ylidene and nickel, palladium, or platinum gives the coordinatively unsaturated 14-electron sandwiches [L M] (M=Ni, Pd, Pt) of the carbene type (990M3228). Palladium(O) carbene complexes can also be prepared by the direct interaction of l,3-R2-imidazol-2-ylidenes (R=/-Pr, r-Bu, Cy, Mes) (L) with the palladium(O) compound [Pd(P(o-Tol)3)2] (OOJOM(595)186), and the product at the first stage is [(L)PdP(o-Tol)3l, and then in excess free carbene [PdL ]. 

Diethylzinc l,3-bis(l-adamantyl)imidazol-2-ylidene adduct is known (93JOM(462)13). Bis(l,3-diphenylimidazol-2-ylidene) mercury(II) carbene complexes follow from the corresponding imidazolium perchlorate and mer-cury(II) chloride (68AGE682). 

Imidazole is characterized mainly by the T) (N) coordination mode, where N is the nitrogen atom of the pyridine type. The rare coordination modes are T) - (jt-) realized in the ruthenium complexes, I-ti (C,N)- in organoruthenium and organoosmium chemistry. Imidazolium salts and stable 1,3-disubsti-tuted imidazol-2-ylidenes give a vast group of mono-, bis-, and tris-carbene complexes characterized by stability and prominent catalytic activity. Benzimidazole follows the same trends. Biimidazoles and bibenzimidazoles are ligands as the neutral molecules, mono- and dianions. A variety of the coordination situations is, therefore, broad, but there are practically no deviations from the expected classical trends for the mono-, di-, and polynuclear A -complexes. 

Silicon analogues of imidazole-2-ylidenes are stable carbenes that form adducts where the metal-silicon bond is relatively weaker than that between metal and carbon atoms. 

The versatile starting material lCp RuCI 4 (1) reacts rapidly with sterically demanding phosphines (PCy and P Pr ) as well as with the nucleophilic carbene ligands (L) to give deep blue, coordinatively unsaturated Cp Ru(L)CI complexes 2-8 (L= l,.Tbis(2,4,6-lrimethylphenyl) (IMes. 2) 1,3-R2-imidazol-2-ylidene = cyclohcxyl (ICy, 3) 4-methylphenyl (ITol, 4) 4-chlorophenyl (IPCl, 5) adamanlyl (lAd, 6) 4..5-dichloro-1,3-bis(2.4,6-trimethylphenyl) (IMesCI, 7) and 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidenc (IPr. 8) in high yields according to Eq. (4). 

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