Photoactivation of metal–halogen bonds in a Ni(ii) NHC complex†
Abstract
Photolysis of [NiII(μ-Cl)Cl(IPr)]2 (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) activates the Ni–Cl bonds to furnish [NiI(μ-Cl)(IPr)]2. Consistent with this photochemistry, a TD-DFT calculation for square planar Ni(II) centre reveals that light excitation leads to the population of orbitals with σ*(Ni–Cl) character.