Oxidation-induced coupling reactions of bi(metallacycloprop-1-ene) complexes

Abstract

The feasibility of coupling of two carbene ligands of biscarbene complexes L_nM(CR₂)₂ to form alkene complexes L_nM(η²-R₂CCR₂) was predicted theoretically as early as 1982. However, until now, there appear still no reports on carbene coupling reactions of well-defined biscarbene complexes. This work reports oxidation-induced coupling reactions of bi(metallacycloprop-1-ene) complexes to give η⁴-butadiene complexes, a unique example of coupling of two carbene ligands of biscarbene complexes.