Iridium(I) complexes with anionic N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as catalysts for the hydrogenation of alkenes in nonpolar media.

A series of lithium complexes of anionic N-heterocyclic carbenes that contain a weakly coordinating borate moiety (WCA-NHC) was prepared in one step from free N-heterocyclic carbenes by deprotonation with n-butyl lithium followed by borane addition. The reaction of the resulting lithium-carbene adducts with [M(COD)Cl]2 (M = Rh, Ir; COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) afforded zwitterionic rhodium(I) and iridium(I) complexes of the type [(WCA-NHC)M(COD)], in which the metal atoms exhibit an intramolecular interaction with the N-aryl groups of the carbene ligands. For M = Rh, the neutral complex [(WCA-NHC)Rh(CO)2] and the ate complex (NEt4)[(WCA-NHC)Rh(CO)2Cl] were prepared, with the latter allowing an assessment of the donor ability of the ligand by IR spectroscopy.

Dihydrogen activation by frustrated carbene-borane Lewis pairs: an experimental and theoretical study of carbene variation.

A variety of Lewis acid-base pairs consisting of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, B(C(6)F(5))(3), in combination with sterically demanding five- and six-membered N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) of the imidazolin-2-ylidene, imidazolidin-2-ylidene, and tetrahydropyrimidin-2-ylidene types were investigated with respect to their potential to act as frustrated Lewis pairs (FLP) by reaction with dihydrogen (H(2)) and tetrahydrofuran (THF). A sufficient degree of "frustration" was usually established by introduction of a 1,3-di-tert-butyl or 1,3-diadamantyl carbene substitution pattern, which allows an unquenched acid-base reactivity and thus leads to heterolytic dihydrogen activation and ring-opening of THF. In contrast, 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-substituted carbenes showed ambiguous behavior, and the corresponding five-membered imidazolin-2-ylidene formed a stable carbene-B(C(6)F(5))(3) adduct, whereas fast C-F activation and formation of a zwitterionic pyrimidinium-fluoroborate was observed for the six-membered tetrahydropyrimidin-2-ylidene.