Chasing isolable late d-block metal nitrenes and imidyls

Imido complexes of late transition metals are of fundamental interest as transient species in bond activation catalysis. In this perspective article, we present late imido metal complexes in uncommon and highly reactive states, concentrating on structurally authenticated imido metal complexes with higher spin states and imidyl or even nitrene character. Further, the few examples of analogous metalla nitridyls and metallanitrenes are discussed. This work serves as an overview of the existing array of these compounds and provides insights into their unequivocal identification or ambiguity, offering an entry point for interested molecular organic/inorganic chemists to contribute to this area.