Tuning electronic structure through halide modulation of mesoionic carbene cobalt complexes

Abstract

The first examples of Co(II) mesoionic carbene complexes (CoX₂^DippMIC₂; X = Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻) demonstrate a new electronic perturbation on tetrahedral Co(II) complexes. Using absorption spectroscopy and magnetometry, the consequences of the MIC's strong σ-donating/minimal π-accepting nature are analyzed and shown to be further tunable by the nature of the coordinated halide.