Unsymmetrically Substituted Iridium(III)−Carbene Complexes by a CH-Activation Process

The synthesis of the metalhydride Cp*(L‘)IrH+OTf - (L‘ = 1-(2-cyclohexenyl)-3-cyclohexylimidazolin-2-ylidene, OTf = OSO2CF3) is achieved by a cyclohexane to cyclohexene transformation at the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand based on a CH-activation/β-hydrogen migration process at the Ir(III) center under mild conditions. The synthetic route to Cp*(L‘)IrH+OTf - and NMR spectroscopic and X-ray structural data are presented.