Cationic mono and dicarbonyl pincer complexes of rhodium and iridium to assess the donor properties of PCcarbeneP ligands.

The donor properties of five different PCcarbeneP ligands are assessed by evaluation of the CO stretching frequencies in iridium(i) and rhodium(i) carbonyl cations. The ligands feature dialkyl phosphine units (R = (i)Pr or (t)Bu) linked to the central benzylic carbon by either an ortho-phenylene bridge, or a 2,3-benzo[b]thiophene linker; in the former, substituent patterns on the phenyl linker are varied. The carbonyl complexes are synthesized from the (PCcarbeneP)M-Cl starting materials via abstraction of the chlorides in the presence of CO gas.