Constructing a stable carbene with a novel topology and electronic framework.

The perimidine skeleton provides a framework for the isolation of a novel, stable carbene possessing a unique molecular architecture and electronic structure. The remarkable steric environment and exceptional electron-donating ability for the carbene-carbon are revealed through structural and spectroscopic characterization of the parent carbene and two sterically encumbered rhodium-carbene complexes, L2RhCl{C[NCH(CH3)2]2(C10H6)} (5 L2 = COD; 6 L = CO).