A Simple and Fast Access to Phosphine‐Substituted Copper(I)‐Carbene Complexes via C=Se Bond Cleavage Reaction

Abstract

AbstractPhosphine coordinated copper(I)‐N‐heterocyclic carbene complexes have emerged as an efficient material in catalysis and light‐emitting applications. In this study, a gentle and sustainable approach to the copper(I)‐carbene phosphine complexes is reported through an efficient C=Se activation protocol. The complexes [(Py^NHC)Cu(PPh3)2]X, X=BF4 (1), ClO4 (2), PF6 (3) and OTf (4); Py^NHC=3‐isopropyl‐1‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)‐imidazol‐2‐ylidene, and [(Py^NHC)Cu(PPh3)(X)], X=Br (5) and I (6) have been synthesized by treating 1‐isopropyl‐3‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)‐imidazole‐2‐selone with corresponding copper(I) precursors and triphenylphosphine. In this synthetic strategy, N‐heterocyclic carbene gets transferred from N‐heterocyclic selone through a C=Se bond cleavage reaction to form copper(I) complexes within five minutes at room temperature. In addition, the mechanism responsible for the C=Se bond cleavage reaction has been fully investigated. These reactions are not sensitive to moisture and oxygen.