Imidazoles carbenes from

TT-delocalization in carbenes is diminished relatively to imidazolium cations. The last conclusion is supported by the upheld shift of the imidazole ring protons in carbenes (from near 7.9 —< 6.9 ppm). Other NMR chemical shifts are given in Table 41. 

Numerous methods for the generation of imidazole carbenes have been reported. For example, starting from an imidazolium halide, the use of systems such as sodium hydride in ammonia or dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), sodium in ammonia, alkali metals in tetrahydrofuran (THF), metal ferf-butoxides in THF or DMSO, etc. Recently, Seddon and Earle reported a simple procedure for the generation of the imidazolium carbene 2 in 90-95% yield from an imidazolium chloride 1 which does not require solvents, filtrations, or produce noxious waste products (Scheme 4) [40],... 

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). 

Free carbenes based on 1,2,4-triazole are not as numerous as those based on imidazole (70ZN(B)1421, 95AGE1021, 97JA6668, 98JA9100). The carbene complex 169 (Ar = Ph, p-Tol) is prepared by the [3 + 2] cycloaddition route from [W(CO)j(C+=NC-HCOOEt)]- and aryldiazonium (930M3241). Oxidative decomplexation causes tautomerization of the 1,2,4-triazole ligand, the products being 170 (Ar= Ph, i-Tol). 

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. 

Bidentate NHC-Pd complexes have been tested as hydrogenation catalysts of cyclooctene under mild conditions (room temperature, 1 atm, ethanol). The complex 22 (Fig. 2.5), featuring abnormal carbene binding from the O carbon of the imidazole heterocycles, has stronger Pd-C jj, bonds and more nucleophilic metal centre than the bound normal carbene chelate 21. The different ligand properties are reflected in the superior activity of 22 in the hydrogenation of cyclooctene at 1-2 mol% loadings under mild conditions. The exact reasons for the reactivity difference in terms of elementary reaction steps are not clearly understood [19]. 

Apart from imidazol-2-ylidene carbenes, other electron-rich carbenes such as (L27)—generated by deprotonation of a 4,5-dihydroimidazole—have been tested for cross-coupling reactions, but gave much poorer results. The only reported exception is in the cross-coupling of arenediazonium salts with arylboronic acids, in which (L27) (used as hydrochloride) proved to be efficient.369... 

The most common ligands are those derived from imidazole and benzimidazol (Scheme 54), followed by the (benz)thiazols. The free Wanzlick-Arduengo carbenes can be isolated and employed for the synthesis of the complexes, but often it is more convenient to prepare the carbenes in situ from the dimers or the corresponding onium salts, or to use carbene-transfer reactions.256-259... 

Proton abstraction from the imidazolium chloride (29) by KO Bu gave the carbene (30) originally postulated, but not isolated, by Wanzlick. An X-ray structure determination of the carbene (30) showed the expected near-planarity of the imidazole ring and an NCN angle of 102.1°, characteristic of a singlet carbene. 

Irradiation of matrix-isolated imidazole-2-carboxylic acid gave the 2,3-dihydro-imidazol-2-ylidene-C02 complex (31) characterized by IR spectroscopy and calculated to lie 15.9 kcal mol above the starting material. A series of non-aromatic nucleophilic carbenes (32) were prepared by desulfurization of the corresponding thiones by molten potassium in boiling THF. The most hindered of the series (32 R = Bu) is stable indefinitely under exclusion of air and water and can be distilled without decomposition. The less hindered carbenes slowly dimerize to the corresponding alkenes. Stable aminoxy- and aminothiocarbenes (33 X = O, S) were prepared by deprotonation of iminium salts with lithium amide bases. The carbene carbon resonance appears at 260-297 ppm in the NMR spectrum and an X-ray structure determination of an aminooxycarbene indicated that electron donation from the nitrogen is more important than that from oxygen. These carbenes do not dimerize. 

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