Concomitant Formation of N-Heterocyclic Carbene−Copper Complexes within a Supramolecular Network in the Self-Assembly of Imidazolium Dicarboxylate with Metal Ions

A new building block containing an imidazolium salt was synthesized and used for the construction of supramolecular networks with metal ions. We discovered the concomitant formation of the N-heterocyclic carbene−copper complex (CN = 2) in the self-assembly of imidazolium dicarboxylates and copper nitrates in N,N-dimethylformamide under heating. The proton in the 2 position of the imidazolium salt was abstracted, and CuII was reduced to CuI during the self-assembly process.