N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands
are intensively used in transition-metal-catalyzed
reactions. Their bond-activation reactions, however, are much less
understood. We now report unprecedented dearylation reactions of N-aryl-substituted
NHCs mediated by cobalt(−I) and rhodium(−I) species,
which lead to the conversion of N-aryl NHCs into N-aryl imidazolate
ligands. The reduction reactions of [(IMes)Co(η2:η2-dvtms)] (IMes = 1,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene, dvtms =
divinyltetramethyldisiloxane) and [Rh(cod)Cl]2/IPr (cod
= cycloocta-1,5-diene, IPr = 1,3-bis(2′,6′-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene)
with KC8 and 18-crown-6 gave the corresponding N-aryl imidazolate
complexes [(18-crown-6)K(μ-C3H2N2Mes-κC
2,κN
3)Co(η2:η2-dvtms)] (1) and [K(18-crown-6)(THF)][(η2
:η
2-cod)2Rh2(μ-C3H2N2(Dipp)-κC
2,κN
3)2(μ-Dipp)2K] (3), which have been characterized by NMR
and X-ray diffraction studies. In supporting the possible involvement
of cobalt(−I) and rhodium(−I) species in the dearylation
reactions, the three-coordinate formal cobalt(−I) and rhodium(−I)
complexes [K(2,2,2-Crypt)][(ICy)Co(η2:η2-dvtms)] (2) and [K(18-crown-6)][(IPr)Rh(η2:η2-dvtms)] (5) have been obtained
from the reduction reactions of [(ICy)Co(η2:η2-dvtms)] (ICy = 1,3-dicyclohexylimidazol-2-ylidene) and [Rh(dvtms)Cl]2/IPr with KC8 and crown ethers. These results suggest
that the C–N bond cleavage step of the dearylation reactions
is likely achieved by cobalt(−I)-/rhodium(−I)-mediated
C–N bond oxidative addition and also imply the possible involvement
of similar degradation reactions in N-aryl NHC-transition-metal-catalyzed
reactions operating under strong reducing conditions.