A 1-Norbornene Adduct of a Transition Metal and an Electrochemical Study of the Bridgehead Olefin Complex

Treatment of a slurry of (PCy3)2NiCl2 in
pentane with 1-norbornyllithium did not lead to the
expected bis(1-norbornyl) nickel complex but instead led
to formation of a 1-norbornene adduct, which has been
structurally characterized. The X-ray data and the
electrochemistry of the 1-norbornene complex suggest a
metallacyclopropane extreme of olefin binding, stemming
from the highly reactive nature of the bridgehead double
bond.