A bis-carbenealkenyl copper(I) complex from a tripodal tris-carbene ligand

The new tris-carbene ligand [TIMEt-Bu] has been synthesized and fully characterized. Reaction of the free carbene with a copper(I) salt provided an unprecedented dinuclear Cu(I)-Cu(I) complex, in which the cuprous ion is coordinated in a trigonal planar ligand environment of three different carbon ligators. Interestingly, one of the three chelating carbon atoms can be formed only via C-H activation of the unsaturated imidazole backbone of the carbene chelator. Accordingly, the title complex is described as a bis-carbenealkenyl copper(I) complex.