Half-sandwich iron(ii) complexes with protic acyclic diaminocarbene ligands: synthesis, deprotonation and metalation reactions.

A variety of half-sandwich iron(ii) complexes with diprotic acyclic diaminocarbene ligands (pADCs) have been obtained by reaction of the cationic complexes [Fe(Cp)(CO)2(CNR)]+ and [Fe(Cp)(CO)(CNR)2]+ with methylamine, and their acid-base behaviour was studied, revealing an easy reversible deprotonation reaction of both N-H moieties of the carbene ligands. The deprotonation process is frequently followed by a nucleophilic attack of the nitrogen atom on a vicinal carbonyl or isocyanide ligand, affording the corresponding metallacycles. Metalation of one or two N-H groups of the pADC ligands can be accomplished by reaction of the carbene complexes with either [AuCl(PPh3)] or [Ru(p-cym)Cl2]2 in the presence of KOH or LiHMDS as deprotonating agents. A number of Fe(ii)/Au(i) and Fe(ii)/Ru(ii) heterometallic complexes have been prepared in this way, some of them formally containing unique metalla-N-heterocyclic carbene ligands.