Mild and Complete Carbonyl Ligand Scission on a Mononuclear Transition Metal Complex

The complete scission of the carbon-oxygen bond of carbon monoxide, while frequently observed on bulk metals and with bimetallic and cluster transition metal complexes, is unknown with monometallic systems. Reaction of a zerovalent iron bis(borylene) complex with a cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene revealed a highly selective intramolecular cleavage of the C-O bond of a carbonyl ligand at room temperature, leading to the formation of a highly unusual iron complex containing a base-stabilized (bora)alkylideneborane ligand. DFT investigation of the reaction mechanism suggested that the two Lewis acidic borylene boron atoms cooperate to cleave the C-O multiple bond.