Synthesis of a first-row transition metal parent amido complex and carbon monoxide insertion into the amide N-H bond.

The parent amido iron complex (dmpe)2Fe(H)(NH2) (dmpe = 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane), the first such first-row transition metal complex, has been synthesized and characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically. This complex has been found to insert carbon monoxide into the amide N-H bond (rather than the M-N bond) to give trans-(dmpe)2Fe(H)(NHCHO). The mechanism of this transformation has been studied and is believed to occur through an unusual mechanism in which CO behaves as an apparent electrophile.