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s‐Block Multiple Bonds: Isolation of a Beryllium Imido Complex
Author(s) -
Wang Guocang,
Walley Jacob E.,
Dickie Diane A.,
Molino Andrew,
Wilson David J. D.,
Gilliard Robert J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202016027
Subject(s) - chemistry , trimethylsilyl azide , beryllium , crystallography , block (permutation group theory) , density functional theory , trimethylsilyl , azide , computational chemistry , organic chemistry , geometry , mathematics
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 Me 3 SiN 3 (TMS‐N 3 ). 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 ( 1 H, 13 C, 9 Be) 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.