Co(III) imidos exhibiting spin crossover and C-H bond activation.

The reaction of ((Ar)L)Co(py) with (t)BuN(3) afforded the isolable three-coordinate Co-imido complex ((Ar)L)Co(N(t)Bu), which is paramagnetic at room temperature. Variable-temperature (VT) (1)H NMR spectroscopy, VT crystallography, and magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed that ((Ar)L)Co(N(t)Bu) undergoes a thermally induced spin crossover from an S = 0 ground state to a quintet (S = 2) state. The reaction of ((Ar)L)Co(py) with mesityl azide yielded an isolable S = 1 terminal imido complex that was converted into the metallacycloindoline ((Ar)L)Co(κ(2)-NHC(6)H(2)-2,4-Me(2)-6-CH(2)) via benzylic C-H activation.