Electrochemical behavior of a nickel(ii) complex with an N-heterocyclic carbene bisphenolate pincer ligand
摘要
The electrochemical behavior of the N-heterocyclic carbene bisphenolate complex of nickel(ii) Ni(L)Py (L – 1,3-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-phenolato)-5,5-dimethyl-(4,6-dihydropyrimidin-2-ylidene)) was studied using cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroelectrochemistry. According to the obtained experimental data supplemented by quantum chemical calculations, the electrochemical properties of this complex differ significantly from those of its benzimidazolylidene and imidazolylidene analogs. The oxidation of the Ni(L)Py complex is a ligand-centered process, and the phenoxyl radical group formed is susceptible to decoordination and interaction with the NHC-fragment of the complex to form benzoxazole, the crystal structure of which was determined by X-ray diffraction.