(2010). The influence of electron delocalization upon the stability and structure of potential N-heterocyclic carbene precursors with 1,3-diaryl-imidazolidine-4,5-dione skeletons. New Journal of Chemistry, 34 (7), 1295-1308. doi:10.1039 Aiming to develop synthetic protocols for the preparation of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) with increased π-acceptor character featuring N-pentafluorophenyl substituents, the molecular 2-chloro-1,3-bis(pentafluorophenyl)imidazolidine-4,5-dione (1a) was isolated from the condensation reaction of the corresponding formamidine with o xalyl chloride, instead of the expected, ionic 1,3-10 bis(pentafluorophenyl)-4,5-dioxo-4,5-dihydro-3H-imidazolium chloride. The nature of the extraannular N-substituents does not appear to exercise a significant influence on the structure of the products of this reaction, as evidenced by the similar structures observed with 2,6-dimethylphenyl (1b) and 2,6-diisopropylphenyl (1c) N-substituted analogues. These formal adducts of NHCs with hydrogen chloride demonstrate reactivity akin to that expected of alkyl halides. For instance, 1,3,1',3'-tetrakis(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-[2,2']diimidazolidinyl-4,5,4',5'-tetraone (2b) is formed via the reductive coupling of two units of 1b, while 1,3-15 bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-4,5-dioxoimidazolidin-2-yl acetate (3c) is formed as the result of a metathesis reaction with mercury acetate. Chloride abstraction results in the formation of unstable imidazolium-4,5-dione salts (4a-c) that decompose rapidly, except in the case of the kinetically-stabilized 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolium-4,5-dione hexafluorophosphate 4c, which could be observed spectroscopically. All imidazolium-4,5-dione hexafluorophosphate salts decompose to neutral 2-fluoro-1,3-bis(aryl)imidazolidine-4,5-diones (5a-c) via fluoride abstraction, demonstrating a clear preference for a four-coordinate 20 geometry about the diaminocarbon center in these compounds. 2-Methoxy-1,3-di(aryl)imidazolidine-4,5-diones (6a-c) were also prepared and they proved to be highly stable, failing to undergo thermolysis and yield the free NHCs. Computational analyses revealed that the instability of NHCs with an oxalamide skeleton, as well as that of their precursors, imidazolium-4,5-diones, results from a π-framework which extends over both carbonyl moieties and gives rise to a very low energy LUMO, rendering the compounds in question highly electrophilic.25