Reaction of the N-heterocyclic carbene, 1,3-dimesityl-imidazol-2-ylidene, with a uranyl triflate complex, UO2(OTf)(2)(thf)(3)

The N-heterocyclic carbene, 1,3-dimesityl-imidazol-2-ylidene (IMes) reacts with tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the presence of an oxidizing uranyl triflate complex, UO2(OTf)(2)(thf)(3) (-OTf = -OSO2CF3), to give 1,4-bis(1,3-dimesityl-2-imidazolium)-1,3-butadiene bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate), formally understood as the coupling product of two equivalents of IMes with [CH = CH - CH = CH](OTf)(2). Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.