Tuning PCP-Ir complexes: the impact of an N-heterocyclic olefin.

A new PCP-type ligand based on an N-heterocyclic olefin (NHO) scaffold has been prepared. The flexibility of this ligand, which is able to adopt facial coordination modes in Ir(I) or meridional in Ir(III) complexes, can be attributed to the dual nature (ylide-olefin) of the NHO scaffold. This results in a rare case of olefin "slippage" that is supported by X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations.