The First Imidazolium-Substituted Metal Alkylidene

A ruthenium complex coordinated by a bidentate aryloxy-NHC ligand has offered the first example of an imidazolium-substituted metal alkylidene, an analogue of existing phosphonium alkylidenes and metal-substituted ketenes. Investigation of the molecular structure and the quantum chemically obtained electronic structure sheds light on the nature of this new compound and the bonds central to its formation.