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42822-B3
Investigation of the Lewis Acidic Properties of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands and Their Implications for Catalysis

Colin D. Abernethy, Keene State College

Having previously investigated several (cyclopentadienyl)vanadium compounds containing both chloride and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, this year we turned our attention to (cyclopentadienyl)metal complexes NHC ligands and either bromide or iodide ligands.� �

The paramagnetic complexes CpCr(IMes)X (X = Br or I) were prepared by the following reactions:

Unfortunately, our attempts to form the vanadium analogs of these complexes by similar reactions of vanadocene with imidazolium bromides and iodides led to mixtures of paramagnetic materials.�

The presence of a PRF-supported undergraduate research program at Keene State College has had a transformative effect on student recruitment and retention in our chemistry program.� During the past three years we have seen the numbers of our students declaring majors in chemistry more than double from an average of 11 to over 25.��

Prior results from this research were presented at the 2008 International Conference on Coordination Chemistry in Jerusalem, Israel as a poster entitled, �(Cyclopentadienyl)Vanadium Nitride Complexes�.� The new results described above will be discussed in a presentation at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Salt Lake City UT in 2009.

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