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Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Me CAAC=N- : A Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino)Carbene Imino Ligand
James T Goettel1,2, Haopeng Gao1,2, Simon Dotzauer1,2
1Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
Abstract:
A cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) has been shown to react with a covalent azide similar to the Staudinger reaction. The reaction of Me CAAC with trimethylsilyl azide afforded the N-silylated 2-iminopyrrolidine (Me CAAC=NSiMe3 ), which was fully characterized. This compound undergoes hydrolysis to afford the 2-iminopyrrolidine and trimethylsiloxane which co-crystallize as a hydrogen-bonded adduct. The N-silylated 2-iminopyrrolidine was used to transfer the novel pyrrolidine-2-iminato ligand onto both main-group and transition-metal centers. The reaction of the tetrabromodiborane bis(dimethyl sulfide) adduct with two equivalents of Me CAAC=NSiMe3 afforded the disubstituted diborane. The reaction of Me CAAC=NSiMe3 with TiCl4 and CpTiCl3 afforded Me CAAC=NTiCl3 and Me CAAC=NTiCl2 Cp, respectively.
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