CO oxidation at nickel centres by N2O or O2 to yield a novel hexanuclear carbonate

Reaction of a nickel(0) carbonyl complex, K-2[(LBuNiCO)-Bu-t](2), with N2O generates a cyclic carbonate compound composed of six [Ni-II(CO3)K](+) units. The same product can also be obtained using O-2 as the oxidant in a solid-state/gas reaction. These conversions represent unique examples of a nickel-bound CO oxidation by N2O and O-2, respectively.