Front Cover: Piano‐Stool Ruthenium N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes for gem‐Specific Catalytic Dimerization of Terminal Alkynes (Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 21/2023)

Abstract

The Front Cover shows [RuClCp*(NHC)] complexes of varying wingtip groups playing a baseball game, the NHC Cup Final. The complex bearing the bulkiest NHC ligand is seen batting with a LiHMDS “base”-ball bat, illustrating the crucial role of the LiHMDS base in the catalytic reaction. The batter hits the incoming phenylacetylene pitch towards the outer field for a homerun, yielding the geminal-enyne product with 100 % selectivity, which is displayed on the score board. The complexes of less bulky NHC ligands are on the opposing team, as they are not able to selectively yield the geminal-enynes. The 25 °C temperature on the weather display board shows the mild reaction conditions, while the CN Tower outside the baseball field in the background is the landmark of Toronto, where this research was conducted. The blue-white “outfit” of the batter corresponds to the Toronto local team colors. More information can be found in the Research Article by D. Song and co-workers.