A Palladium(II) Peroxido Complex Supported by the Smallest Steric N-Heterocyclic Carbene, IMe=1,3-Dimethylimidazole-2-ylidene, and Its Reactivity by Oxygen-Atom Transfer

Abstract

Stabilized with an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand of the smallest steric profile, Pd-II(eta(2)-O-2)(IMe)(2) (IMe = 1,3-dimethylimidazole-2-ylidene) was synthesized by the direct addition of dioxygen to Pd-0(IMe)(2). The peroxidopalladium complex with IMe, which was previously available only by computation, was characterized by IR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Moreover, its oxygen-atom-transfer reactivity was elucidated by studying its thermolysis in pyridine at 60 degrees C to yield 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-one (IMeO) and its reaction with oxygen-atom-transfer acceptors such as PPh3 and (Me3Si)(2). © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim