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.