Ruthenium Induced C−N Bond Activation of an N-Heterocyclic Carbene: Isolation of C- and N-Bound Tautomers

C−N bond activation of the N-heterocyclic carbene 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene occurs with Ru(PPh3)3(CO)HCl to give the C-2 bound 1-isopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene complex Ru(C−IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl via loss of propene. In the presence of free carbene, this undergoes tautomerism to the corresponding imidazole compound Ru(N−IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl.

1,3-二异丙基-4,5-二甲基咪唑-2-亚基（氮杂环卡宾（N-heterocyclic carbene））的C−N键活化反应，可与氢化羰基三(三苯基膦)合钌[Ru(PPh3)3(CO)HCl]发生，反应通过脱除丙烯生成C-2位配位的1-异丙基-4,5-二甲基咪唑-2-亚基配合物Ru(C−IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl。在游离卡宾存在的条件下，该配合物会发生互变异构，得到对应的咪唑类配合物Ru(N−IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl。