s‐Block Multiple Bonds: Isolation of a Beryllium Imido Complex

Wang, G.; Walley, J. E.; Dickie, D. A.; Molino, A.; Wilson, D. J. D.; Gilliard Jr., R. J. s‐Block Multiple Bonds: Isolation of a Beryllium Imido Complex. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2021, 60, 9407-9411.

Abstract

A common feature of  d‐ and  p‐block elements is that they participate in multiple bonding.  In contrast, the synthesis of compounds containing homo‐ or hetero‐nuclear multiple bonds involving s‐block elements is extremely rare. Herein, we report the synthesis, molecular structure, and computational analysis of a beryllium imido (Be=N) complex (2), which was prepared  via  oxidation of a molecular Be(0) precursor (1) with trimethylsilyl azide Me3SiN3  (TMS-N3 ). Notably, compound  2  features the shortest known Be=N bond (1.464 Å) to date . This represents the  first compound with an s‐block  metal−nitrogen multiple bond. All compounds were characterized experimentally with multi‐nuclear NMR spectroscopy ( 1H,  13C,  9Be) and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies. The bonding situation was analyzed with density functional theory (DFT) calculations,  which supports the existence of  π ‐bonding between beryllium and nitrogen.

Last updated on 04/13/2021