A <i>Bis</i>‐(carbone) Pincer Ligand and Its Coordinative Behavior toward Multi‐Metallic Configurations
Bamlaku Semagne Aweke, Cheng‐Han Yu, Minna Zhi, Wen‐Ching Chen, Glenn P. A. Yap, Lili Zhao, Tiow‐Gan Ong
Abstract
Carbones are divalent carbon(0) species that contain two lone pairs of electrons. Herein, we have prepared the first known stable and isolable free bis-(carbone) pincer framework with a well-defined solid-state structure. This bis-(carbone) ligand is an effective scaffold for forming monometallic (Ni and Pd) and trinuclear heterometallic complexes with Au-Pd-Au, Au-Ni-Au, and Cu-Ni-Cu configurations. Sophisticated quantum-theoretical analyses found that the metal-metal interactions are too weak to play a significant role in upholding these multi-metallic configurations; rather, the four lone pairs of electrons within the bis-(carbone) framework are the main contributors to the stability of the complexes.