Mono- and Dimetalation of a Tridentate Bisimidazole-Phosphine Ligand

A bisimidazole-phosphine ligand, PhP­[(CH2)2ImArMe2]2, has been prepared and has been metalated using [Cp*Ru­(μ3-Cl)]4, generating a bis­(N-heterocyclic carbene)-phosphine Ru­(II) species through ligand coordination followed by tautomerization. This is the first example of an NHC–donor–NHC complex with two unsubstituted N–H wingtips. Furthermore, a second metal center was installed by deprotonation of both N–H wingtips and subsequent salt metathesis to generate Ru­(II)–Fe­(II) and Ru­(II)–Co­(II) bimetallic complexes.