Transition metal complexes with isonitriles

Carbon-transition metal bonds can also be formed by cocondensing transition-metal atoms with isonitriles. Thus, using Ni and Fe with t-butyl isocyanide, methyl isocyanide, cyclohexyl isocyanide and vinyl isocyanide the NiL4 and FeL, complexes are formed. Palladium cocondensed with isonitriles yields PdLj polymeric structures with terminal and bridged isonitrile ligands ... 

A60. J. P. Candlin, K. A. Taylor, and D. T. Thompson, "Reactions of Transition-Metal Complexes. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1968. A review of types of reactions of metal complexes (e.g., substitution, combination, redox) reactions with various reagents (e.g., hydrocarbons, halides, carbon monoxide, and isonitrile) and preparation of new stabilised organic systems (e.g., metallocenes, carbenes). Intended for research workers, consequently written at a fairly high level, with emphasis on organometallics. A61. H. J. Keller, NMR-Untersuchungen an Komplexverbindungen. Springer, Berlin, 1970. Expansion of review article 37.1. 

Treatment of alkylating agents with metal cyanides should in principle be the method of choice for preparing isocyanides (equation 25). But as the cyanide ion again represents an ambident nucleophile, the well-known problems already discussed will arise (Section 1.8.2.1.i). It remains to be stated that simple alkylation of alkali metal cyanides with halogen compounds or dialkyl sulfates is not useful for the preparation of isonitriles. The formation of nitriles always prevails and isocyanides are at best obtained in yields of up to 25%. " The prospects are much tetter in the alkylation of heavy metal cyanides, if the reaction is done under conditions which initially give rise to isocyanide-transition metal complexes (equation 26). These will then be transformed into isonitriles by treatment with KCN. Under optimized conditions this technique yielded 55% of ethyl isocyanide. ... 

Reactive monomeric species of RNBR composition can be isolated by trapping at low temperatures. The monomers are prepared by low-pressure thermal degradation of boranamines or azidoboranes L Cyclization reactions can occur on warming to RT. In the absence of steric hindrance, trimeric borazine rings invariably form, but with sufficiently bulky substituents (e.g., R = R = t-Bu), dimeric species result. However, even with nonbulky substituents many monomers can form cyclic dimers at low temperature if subjected to catalysis by certain transition-metal complexes or the isonitrile t-BuNC... 

Carbon monoxide and isonitxile, which have an isoelectronic structure and serve as TT-acid ligand on transition metals, form various stable transition metal complexes. One of the most fundamental and important reactions with carbon monoxide and isonitrile in organometallic chemistry is their insertion into the carbon-metal bond of organometallic compounds (Scheme 1). 

Gold(I) isonitrile complexes were first reported (131) in 1956, when it was found that they were generally less stable than the isonitrile complexes of other transition metals. This was attributed to the low tendency of gold to form bonds with double bond character. A number of isonitrile complexes have been made, however, and they have been used extensively in the preparation of carbene and imino complexes of gold(I). 

The interests in homoleptic (see Homoleptic Compound) isocyanide ( isonitrile, see Isocyanide Ligands) complexes of transition metals have largely been associated with their similarities to metal carbonyls. The greater versatility of isocyanide ligands in comparison to CO makes isocyanide complexes potentially valuable reagents in synthetic chemistry and catalysis. The dication [V(CNBu )6] reported in 1980 remained the sole example of a homoleptic group 5 metal isocyanide until 1999, when the first binary... 

Nitriles are resistant to hydrometallation by transition metal hydride complexes. The complex Cp2ZrHCl reacts with nitriles A rhenium complex bridged by adinuc-lear hydride undergoes insertion with several isonitriles and with acetonitrile. The product in the case of the isonitrile results from a 1,1-inertion (see 11.2.8) ... 

In Tables 5 and 6 appear complexes of transition metals with organic compounds containing nitrile and isonitrile functional groups, respectively. 

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