The complex (1-Me-indenyl)Ni(PPh3)(phthalimidate) has been prepared and fully characterized by IR and 1H, 13C{1H}, and 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray
diffraction. The analogous 4,5-dichlorophthalimidato, maleimidato, and succinimidato
complexes have also been prepared and characterized spectroscopically. These complexes
are thermally stable, in contrast to the analogous Ni−amido species, which could not be
prepared. Reactivity studies have shown that the Ni−imidato bond is fairly unreactive in
insertion and nucleophilic reactions, and VT 1H NMR studies suggest that the rotation around
the Ni−N bond in the maleimidato complex is hindered by ca. 11 kcal/mol. The solid-state
structure of the phthalimidato derivative showed that the P, N, C1, and C3 atoms are
arranged around the Ni atom in a distorted-square-planar coordination environment, while
the C2 atom is within bonding distance above the main square plane. The phthalimidato
ligand is η1(N)-coordinated to Ni; the Ni−N bond is relatively short (1.895(4) Å), and the
orientation of the imidato ligand is such that the planes bearing the atoms P, Ni, N and C9,
N, C16 are rotated by ca. 76° with respect to each other. The hapticity of the indenyl ligand
is characterized by an allyl-ene distortion (η5↔η3) and a partial localization of bonding inside
the indenyl ring (η3↔η1,η2). 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectra indicate that the nonsymmetrical
coordination of the indenyl ligand, which can be attributed to the different trans influences
of the phthalimidato and PPh3 ligands, is maintained in the solution. The character of the
Ni−imidato bond has been discussed in terms of electrostatic-covalent and π-bonding
interactions.