Trimethylsilyldiazomethane Disassembly at a Three-Fold Symmetric Iron Site.

The reaction of equimolar trimethylsilyldiazomethyllithium (LiTMSD) with high spin ( = 2) PhB(AdIm)FeCl (PhB(AdIm) = tris(3-adamantylimidazol-2-ylidene)phenylborate) affords the corresponding nitrilimido complex PhB(AdIm)Fe-N═N═C(SiMe). This complex can be converted to the thermodynamically more favorable -isocyanoamido isomer PhB(AdIm)Fe-C═N═N(SiMe) by reaction with an additional equivalent of LiTMSD. While the iron(II) complexes are four-coordinate, the diazomethane is bound side-on in the iron(I) congener PhB(AdIm)Fe(,'-κ-NC(H)Si(CH)).