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Updated: May 9, 2026

Preparation and Use of Carbonyl-decorated Carbenes in the Activation of White Phosphorus
Published on: October 3, 2014
Activation of water, ammonia, and other small molecules by PC(carbene)P nickel pincer complexes
Dmitry V Gutsulyak1, Warren E Piers, Javier Borau-Garcia
1Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4.
Abstract:
Nickel complexes of a PC(carbene)P pincer ligand framework are described. Dehydrobromination of the precursor (PC(sp)(3)P)NiBr in the presence of a donor (PPh3 or NC(t)Bu) leads to the title complexes, which feature a rare nickel-carbene linkage as the pincer ligand anchor point. This strongly donating, nucleophilic carbene center engages in a variety of E-H bond activations (E = H, C, N, O), some of which are reversible. This represents a new mode of bond activation by ligand cooperativity in nickel pincer complexes.
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