Group 13 Element Trihalide Complexes of Anionic N-Heterocyclic Carbenes.

A series of group 13 complexes of the general type [{(WCA-IDipp)EX ₃ }Li(solv)] (E=B, Al, Ga, In; X=Cl, Br) that bear an anionic N-heterocyclic carbene ligand with a weakly coordinating borate moiety (WCA-IDipp, WCA=B(C ₆ F ₅ ) ₃ and IDipp=1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene) were prepared by the reaction of the respective group 13 trihalides (EX ₃ ) with the lithium salt [(WCA-IDipp)Li ⋅ toluene]. The molecular structures of the BBr ₃ , AlCl ₃ , AlBr ₃ , GaCl ₃ and InCl ₃ adducts were established by X-ray diffraction analyses, revealing the formation of coordination polymers linked by halide-lithium interactions, except for the indium derivative, which consists of isolated [Li(THF) ₄ ] ⁺ and [(WCA-IDipp)InCl ₃ ] ^- ions in the solid state.
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