Structural and electronic elucidation of a N-heterocyclic silylene vanadocene adduct

Abstract

The solid and solution state structure of the vanadium(II) N-heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) complex, [(^SiIPr)V(Cp)₂] (1) is reported (^SiIPr: 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopent-4-en-2-ylidene). The electronic structure of 1 is probed using a combination of magnetic measurements, EPR spectroscopy and computational studies. The V–Si bond strength and complex forming mechanism between vanadocene and an NHSi ligand is elucidated using computational methods.