Over the past decade we have studied a family of unusual 2- and 3-coordinate complexes of Ni(I), Ni(II), and Ni(III), including examples of nickel complexes containing terminal imido (LxNi=NR), phosphinidene (LxNi=PR), and carbene (LxNi=CR2) ligands. Group-transfer reactions of these reactive molecules to unsaturated substrates (olefins, alkynes, carbon monoxide) will be described, highlighting the structural and electronic factors that facilitate these transformations. The talk will emphasize recent efforts to extend these studies to two coordinate nickel systems. The consequences of lowering the coordination number at the metal from three to two will be presented, exemplified by the 2-coordinate imido complex (IPr*)Ni=NR shown below. 

Award Address  (ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation). Unusual reactivity in 2- and 3-coordinate Ni complexes featuring metal-ligand multiple bonds

245th National Meeting (2013)

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