Nonclassical NHC transfers from the reaction of (IMes)AgCl with osmium carbonyl clusters and some novel reactivity of NHC osmium hydride clusters

INOR 121

Craig E. Cooke1, Roland K. Pomeroy1, and Jason A. C. Clyburne, jason.clyburne@smu.ca2. (1) Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada, (2) Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
In recent years, there has been much interest in N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), both as free carbenes, where they can behave as organocatalysts, and also as essential components of transition metal complexes which have a wide range of reactivity in either stoichiometric or catalytic reactions. As ligands, NHCs play a role broadly similar to that of phosphines, but they are considered to be much more strongly bound to a metal center than phosphines, and hence less likely to participate in coordination sphere rearrangements. Recent reports, however, clearly show that NHC-metal bonds are not inert, and NHC ligands are able to participate in various inter- and intramolecular reactions. Here we describe the preparation of the first NHC complexes of polynuclear osmium clusters as well as some of their reaction chemistry that clearly illustrates some of the non-innocent behavior of NHCs.
 

Organometallic Synthesis
1:30 PM-5:20 PM, Sunday, August 19, 2007 BCEC -- 212, Oral

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007