Stable Mono- and Dinuclear Organosilver Complexes

A series of mononuclear and dinuclear complexes of silver(I), supported by an N-heterocyclic carbene and bound to sp3-, sp2-, and sp-hybridized carbanions, has been synthesized. Synthetic routes include transmetalation from organozinc, organomagnesium, and organosilicon reagents, as well as the deprotonation of a terminal alkyne. These complexes exhibit greater thermal stability than typical organosilver reagents, permitting spectroscopic and structural characterization. The carbanion-bridged disilver cations feature three-center, two-electron bonding with short Ag···Ag distances. A mononuclear vinylsilver complex releases organic homocoupling products upon thermal decomposition, while mononuclear alkylsilver complexes exhibit nucleophilic behavior, for example, inserting CO2 to form silver carboxylates.