The synthesis, structural characterization and conformational analysis of (1,3-bis(2-methyl-4-diethylaminophenyl)imidazolidin-2-ylidene)chloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene)rhodium(I)

A four-coordinated Rh(l) complex with a new heterocyclic carbene ligand, functionalized by amino donor pendants, 4, was synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, NMR and IR spectroscopy, and the molecular structure of the title compound has been determined by Xray crystallography. Crystallographic data: monoclinic, P2(1)/m, a = 7.9307(5), b = 25.0061(12), c = 8.0780(6) angstrom, 0 = 101.366(6)degrees, V = 1570.58(17) angstrom(3), rho(calc), = 1.3515(l) gcm(-3), Z = 2. The experimentally obtained structural parameters for compound 4 compare reasonably well with those calculated at the semi-empirical ZINDO/1 level of theory carried out to elucidate conformational flexibility and steric hindrances