Piano-Stool Iron(II) Complexes as Probes for the Bonding of <i>N</i>-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Indications for π-Acceptor Ability

A series of new piano-stool iron(II) complexes comprising mono- and bidentate chelating N-heterocyclic carbene ligands [Fe(cp)(CO)(NHC)(L)]X have been prepared and analyzed by spectroscopic, electrochemical, crystallographic, and theoretical methods. Selectively substituting the L site with a series of ligands going from carbene to pyridine to CO suggests that CO is the strongest π acceptor, while the behavior of pyridine and carbene is nearly identical. This suggests that in these complexes comprising an electron-rich iron(cp)(carbene) fragment, N-heterocyclic carbenes are not pure σ donors but also moderate π acceptors. Theoretical calculations support this bonding model and indicate charge saturation at the metal as key for π back-bonding to N-heterocyclic carbenes. On the basis of voltammetric measurements, the Lever electrochemical parameter of these carbenes has been determined: EL = +0.29. Systematic substitution of the wingtip groups of the carbene revealed only subtle changes in the electronic properties of the iron center, thus providing a suitable methodology for ligand-induced fine-tuning of the coordinated metal.