NHCs go nano: Ruthenium nanoparticles were formed from (cyclooctadiene)(cyclooctatriene)ruthenium(0) and stabilized by N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). Solid‐state NMR spectroscopy revealed both the coordination of the NHC ligands on the surface of the particles and their surface reactivity.

Coordinatively unsaturated Pt(II) complex [Pt(I(t)Bu')(I(t)Bu)](+) stabilized by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands dehydrogenates N,N-dimethylamineborane through a mechanism that involves hydride abstraction, assisted by an amine, to yield a platinum-hydride complex [PtH(I(t)Bu')(I(t)Bu)] with concomitant formation of the boronium cation [(NHMe2)2BH2](+). This latter species is very likely in equilibrium with the THF stabilized borenium cation [(NHMe2)(THF)BH2](+), bearing an acidic NH group that is able to protonate the platinum hydride [PtH(I(t)Bu')(I(t)Bu)] releasing H2, the amino borane H2B-NMe2 and regenerating the catalytic [Pt](+) species.

Bis(trimethylsilyl)mercury cleanly reacts at low temperature with chloroamidinium and -iminium chlorides, generating persistent metal-free cyclic and acyclic diaminocarbenes, as well as transient aryl-, chloro-, and hydrogenoaminocarbenes; with the latter, the corresponding olefin dimers were isolated, whereas with the former, no dimerization processes were observed.

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SummaryAlthough four-coordinate square-planar geometries, with a formally 16-electron counting, are absolutely dominant in isolated Pt(II) complexes, three-coordinate, 14-electron Pt(II) complexes are believed to be key intermediates in a number of platinum-mediated organometallic transformations. Although very few authenticated three-coordinate Pt(II) complexes have been characterized, a much larger number of complexes can be described as operationally three-coordinate in a kinetic sense. In these compounds, which we have called masked T-shaped complexes, the fourth position is occupied by a very weak ligand (agostic bond, solvent molecule or counteranion), which can be easily displaced. This review summarizes the structural features of the true and masked T-shaped Pt(II) complexes reported so far and describes synthetic strategies employed for their formation. Moreover, recent experimental and theoretical reports are analyzed, which suggest the involvement of such intermediates in reaction mechanisms, particularly C–H bond-activation processes.

Steric strains (F-strain or front-strain) in the acid-base interaction between the Lewis acid [TpMe2Ir(C6H5)2] and 2-substituted pyridines Lewis bases, are responsible for the stabilization of the C-adducts (2) of the respective pyridine carbene tautomers over the expected N-adducts.

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Weak interactions between the silicon and the hydrides are responsible for the stabilization of the title complex bearing two different coordinated s-bonds, (h 2 -H 2 ) and (h 2 -H-SiPh 3 ).