Exploring the coordination chemistry between bismuth (III) salts and N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) derived from imidazolium salt-based pincer ligands

Abstract

1 online resource (ix, 81 pages) : illustrations (some colour), graphsIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-53).N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are a novel class of compounds that have attracted considerable interest in synthetic chemistry due to their strong &delta;-donating and weak &pi;-accepting properties, as well as their characterization as soft Lewis bases. These features contribute to their enhanced stability and reactivity, making them valuable ligands in both transition metal and main group chemistry. This thesis aims to generate free NHC species through the deprotonation of structurally distinct imidazolium salt-based pincer ligands. Synthesis of the ligands, which feature either an imidazolium or benzimidazolium core, is improved upon by employing the use of a microwave reactor rather than conventional heating. Preliminary characterization demonstrated the successful formation of a carbene species; however, attempts to isolate the free carbenes or directly coordinate them to bismuth were unsuccessful. Despite this, the optimized ligand synthesis and evidence of carbene formation represent promising steps toward the development of novel NHC-based systems for future applications in main group element chemistry.</p