Low-energy photochemical reactions of the tetrakis(methyl isocyanide)iridium(I) cation and some oxidative additions of a stable complex of five-co-ordinate iridium(I)

Abstract

The deep blue cation [Ir(MeNC)₄]⁺ associates with monodentate ligands L when irradiated with visible light and some of the products [IrL(MeNC)₄]⁺ dissociate thermally in the dark back to [Ir(MeNC)₄]⁺ and L; the very stable five-co-ordinate cation [Ir(MeNC)(dppe)₂]⁺ is formed by photosubstitution and it undergoes oxidative additions without loss of any of its existing ligands.