Stabilization through dispersion interactions? Synthesis and characterization of coordinatively unsaturated metal complexes containing weakly coordinating anionic N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (WCA-NHC) showing metal N-arene interactions

在本课题组最近的一项研究中，我们观察到某些铱（I）和铑（I）卡宾配合物明显地通过金属中心与阴离子N-杂环卡宾的芳烃取代基的相互作用而稳定，所述阴离子N-杂环卡宾在咪唑啉配体的4-位上带有BR 3-基团，由此总是与BR 3-部分相邻的N-芳烃基团进行配位。通过仔细改变N-芳烃基团和BR 3-单元的电子和空间性质，我们希望研究对金属-芳烃相互作用的影响。因此，我们希望通过广泛的综合和理论研究来解决这个问题。这项工作也将提高在分子化学领域的有效性和分散相互作用的控制的理解。

In a recent study performed in our group, we have observed that certain iridium(I) and rhodium(I) carbene complexes are obviously stabilized through the interaction of the metal center with a arene substituent of an anionic N-heterocyclic carbene, which bears a BR3-group in 4-position of the imidazoline ligand, whereby the coordination always takes place to the N-arene group that is adjacent to the BR3-moiety. By careful variation of the electronic and steric properties of both, the N-arene group and the BR3-unit, we want to study the influence on the metal-arene interaction. Thus, we want to address this problem through extensive synthetic and theoretical studies. This work will also enhance the understanding of the effectiveness and the control of dispersion interactions in the field of molecular chemistry.