1-Ferrocenylmethyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)-1H-imidazolidin-3-ium iodide and trans-bis(3-benzyl-1-ferrocenylmethyl-1H-imidazolidin-2-ylidene)diiodidopalladium(II)

Owing to increasing interest in the use of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) based on imidazolidinium ions as ligands in the design of highly efficient transition-metal-based homogeneous catalysts, the characterizations of the 1-ferrocenylmethyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)imidazolidin-3-ium iodide salt, [Fe(C5H5)(C19H24N2)]I, (I), and the palladium complex trans-bis(3-benzyl-1-ferrocenylmethyl-1H-imidazolidin-2-ylidene)diiodidopalladium(II), [Fe2Pd(C5H5)(2)(C16H17N2)(2)I-2], (II), are reported. Compound (I) has two iodide anions and two imidazolidinium cations within the asymmetric unit (Z' = 2). The two cations have distinctly different conformations, with the ferrocene groups orientated exo and endo with respect to the N-heterocyclic carbene. Weak C-H donor hydrogen bonds to both the iodide anions and the pi system of the mesitylene group combine to form two-dimensional layers perpendicular to the crystallographic c direction. Only one of the formally charged imidazolidinium rings forms a near-linear hydrogen bond with an iodide anion. Complex (II) shows square-planar coordination around the Pd-II metal, which is located on an inversion centre (Z' = 0.5). The ferrocene and benzyl substituents are in a trans-anti arrangement. The Pd-C bond distance between the N-heterocyclic carbene ligands and the metal atom is 2.036 (7) angstrom. A survey of related structures shows that the lengthening of the N-C bonds and the closure of the N-C-N angle seen here on metal complexation is typical of similar NHCs and their complexes.