For most carbene, the s non-bonding orbital is lower in energy than the 2p-p non-bonding orbital. Therefore in the closed singlet state of a carbene, the two non-bonding electrons usually occupy the s non-bonding orbital, giving a s2?0 singlet state. By stabilizing the 2p-p non-bonding orbital and destabilizing the s non-bonding orbital of a carbene, the s0?2 singlet state, in which the two non-bonding electrons occupy the 2p-p non-bonding orbital, can be made the lowest singlet and even the ground state of a carbene.Due to the fundamentally different orbital occupancies between the s2?0 and s0?2 singlet carbenes, large differences in the properties and reactivities are expected between the two types of singlet carbenes. We have studied the reactions of s0?2 singlet carbene with various of small molecules including C2H4, H2, CH4, NH3, CO, CO2 an so on computationally. Results show that s0?2 singlet carbenes are highly reactive electrophiles that are able to activate all the aforementioned small molecules.

Reactivities of s<sup>0</sup>?<sup>2</sup> singlet carbenes

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Reactivities of s0?2 singlet carbenes

Reactivities of s⁰?² singlet carbenes