A simple, general route to 2-pyridylidene transition metal complexes.

Pyridinium 2-carboxylates decompose thermally in the presence of a variety of late transition metal precursors to yield the corresponding 2-pyridylidene-like complexes. The mild reaction conditions and structural diversity that can be generated in the heterocyclic ring make this method an attractive alternative for the synthesis of 2-pyridylidene complexes. IR spectra of the Ir(i) carbonyl compounds [IrCl(NHC)(CO)(2)] indicate that these N-heterocyclic carbene ligands are among the strongest σ-electron donors.