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Fluorine is an essential component in many highly effective pharmaceutical drugs, however the selective fluorination of organic molecules poses a challenge. A common route to installing fluorine involves C-F bond cleavage, which is often accomplished using second- or third-row transition metals. Base metal catalysts such as nickel may provide a facile, sustainable, and cheaper alternative for C-F activation. Monodentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) nickel complexes have been reported to undergo C-F activation, however bis-bidentate NHC (RNHC2R1; R, R1 = alkyl or aryl) analogs remain underexplored. This work reports a series of RNHC2R1 nickel(0) complexes with various R1 linkers to determine the effect of the linker on the C-F activation of hexafluorobenzene. Comparisons include a reference nickel(0) complex with two monodentate NHC ligands, and results show that low-valent nickel NHC complexes readily break the C-F bond in C6F6 via oxidative addition. Crystallographic and NMR characterization demonstrate that ligand design and denticity affect the cis versus trans orientation of the final product, with the possibility for additional ligand C-H activation. 

This work investigates possible mechanisms and intermediates in the reactivity of p-toluenesulfonyl fluoride with a new bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) nickel complex, (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(COD) (Mes = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl, oXy = ortho-xylyl, COD = cyclooctadiene). (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(COD) was synthesized from the corresponding bis(imidazolium) salt precursor, [MesNHC2oXy][Br]2, and both were structurally characterized. (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(COD) reacts with one equivalent of p-toluenesulfonyl fluoride to furnish (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(2-SO2), HF, and ½ equivalent of 4,4’-dimethylbiphenyl. (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(2-SO2) was structurally characterized and has a unique side-on SO2 coordination mode with a Ni-S-O angle of 60.49(5)°. DFT calculations of (MesNHC2oXy)Ni(2-SO2) are consistent with a Ni(II) center and an activated SO2 fragment. DFT calculations also support an initial oxidative addition at either the S-F or S-C positions, which have similar energetics. 

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₅H₂₀N₂or^DippIm, is reported. At 106 (2) K, the molecule has monoclinicP2₁/c symmetry with four molecules in the unit cell. The imidazole ring is rotated 80.7 (1)° relative to the phenyl ring. Intermolecular stabilization primarily results from close contacts between the N atom at the 3-position on the imidazole ring and the C—H bond at the 4-position on the neighboring^DippIm, with aryl–aryl distances outside of the accepted distance of 5 Å for π-stacking. 

The crystal structures of ligand precursor bis(imidazolium) salts 1,1′-methylenebis(3- tert -butylimidazolium) dibromide monohydrate, C 15 H 26 N 4 + ·2Br − ·H 2 O or [ t Bu NHC 2 Me][Br] 2 ·H 2 O, 1,1′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis(3- tert -butylimidazolium) dibromide dihydrate, C 16 H 28 N 4 + ·2Br − ·2H 2 O or [ t Bu NHC 2 Et][Br] 2 ·2H 2 O, 1,1′-methylenebis[3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolium] dibromide dihydrate, C 25 H 30 N 4 2+ ·2Br − ·2H 2 O or [ Mes NHC 2 Me][Br] 2 ·2H 2 O, and 1,1′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis[3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolium] dibromide tetrahydrate, C 26 H 32 N 4 2+ ·2Br − ·4H 2 O or [ Mes NHC 2 Et][Br] 2 ·4H 2 O, are reported. At 293 K, [ t Bu NHC 2 Me][Br] 2 ·H 2 O crystallizes in the P 2 1 / c space group, while [ t Bu NHC 2 Et][Br] 2 ·2H 2 O crystallizes in the P 2 1 / n space group at 100 K. At 112 K, [ Mes NHC 2 Me][Br] 2 ·2H 2 O crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pccn while [ Mes NHC 2 Et][Br] 2 ·4H 2 O crystallizes in the P 2 1 / c space group at 100 K. Bond distances and angles within the imidazolium rings are generally comparable among the four structures. All four bis(imidazolium) salts co-crystallize with one to four molecules of water. 

Two cis -dioxomolybdenum complexes based on salan ligands with different backbones are reported. The first complex, dioxido{2,2′-[l,2-phenylenebis(iminomethylene)]bis(phenolato)}molybdenum(VI) dimethylformamide disolvate, [Mo(C 20 H 18 N 2 O 2 )O 2 ]·2C 3 H 7 NO ( Ph LMoO 2 , 1b ), features a phenyl backbone, while the second complex, (6,6′-{[(cyclohexane-1,2-diyl)bis(azanediyl)]bis(methylene)}bis(2,4-di- tert -butylphenolato))dioxidomolybdenum(VI) methanol disolvate, [Mo(C 36 H 56 N 2 O 2 )O 2 ]·2CH 3 OH ( Cy LMoO 2 , 2b ), is based on a cyclohexyl backbone. These complexes crystallized as solvated species, 1b ·2DMF and 2b ·2MeOH. The salan ligands Ph LH 2 ( 1a ) and Cy LH 2 ( 2a ) coordinate to the molybdenum center in these complexes 1b and 2b in a κ 2 N ,κ 2 O fashion, forming a distorted octahedral geometry. The Mo—N and Mo—O distances are 2.3475 (16) and 1.9567 (16) Å, respectively, in 1b while the corresponding measurements are Mo—N = 2.3412 (12) Å, and Mo—O = 1.9428 (10) Å for 2b . A key geometrical feature is that the N—Mo—N angle of 72.40 (4)° in Cy LMoO 2 is slightly less than that of the Ph LMoO 2 angle of 75.18 (6)°, which is attributed to the flexibility of the cyclohexane ring between the nitrogen as compared to the rigid phenyl ring in the Ph LMoO 2 . 

The structure of a trinuclear zinc complex, hexakis(μ 2 -2-anilinobenzoato)diaquatrizinc(II), [Zn 2 (C 13 H 10 NO 2 ) 6 (H 2 O) 2 ] or (NPA) 6 Zn 3 (H 2 O) 2 (NPA is 2-anilinobenzoate or N -phenylanthranilate), is reported. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P -1 and the central Zn II atom is located on an inversion center. The NPA ligand is found to coordinate via the carboxylate O atoms with unique C—O bond lengths that support an unequal distribution of resonance over the carboxylate fragment. The axial H 2 O ligands form hydrogen bonds with neighboring molecules that stabilize the supramolecular system in rigid straight chains, with an angle of 180° along the c axis. π stacking is the primary stabilization along the a and b axes, resulting in a highly ordered supramolecular structure. Docking studies show that this unique supramolecular structure of a trinuclear zinc complex has potential for binding to the main protease (M pro ) in SARS-CoV-2 in a different location from Remdesivir, but with a similar binding strength. 

The title compound, bis(1,2-diphenyl-2-sulfanylideneethanethiolato-κ 2 S , S ′)(1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane-κ P )cobalt(II) dichloromethane hemisolvate, [Co(pdt) 2 (PTA)]·0.5C 2 H 4 Cl 2 or [Co(C 14 H 10 S 2 ) 2 (C 6 H 12 N 3 P)]·0.5C 2 H 4 Cl 2 , contains two phenyldithiolene (pdt) ligands and a 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) ligand bound to cobalt with the solvent 1,2-dichloroethane molecule located on an inversion center. The cobalt core exhibits an approximately square-pyramidal geometry with partially reduced thienyl radical monoanionic ligands. The supramolecular network is consolidated by hydrogen-bonding interactions primarily with nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine atoms, as well as parallel displaced π-stacking of the aryl rings. The UV–vis, IR, and CV data are also consistent with monoanionic dithiolene ligands and an overall Co II oxidation state.