Carbonyl insertion into zirconium–nitrogen bonds; synthesis and X-ray structure of a carbene complex composed of [Zr(NMe 2) 4] 2 and three Fe(CO) 5 units containing Fe→Zr donor–acceptor interactions

Abstract

The reaction of [Zr(NMe 2) 4] 2 with Fe(CO) 5 leads to the multicarbene complex ( 1) containing two zirconium and three iron atoms. The crystal structure revealed that 1 results from the insertion of five CO groups into ZrN bonds generating chelating biscarbene ligands at two iron atoms and one terminal carbene ligand at the third iron atom. Thus, a planar and a boat-configured ring are formed ( A and B) with relatively short FeZr distances of 284 and 282 pm, respectively, indicating early–late transition-metal interactions.