Rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes with poly(azolyl)borates generated in situ from an organometallic precursor containing the B-H...Re coordination motif.

Complex fac-[Re(kappa(3)-H(mu-H)(2)B(tim(Me)))(CO)(3)] (1) reacts with protic azoles, like 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (tim(Me)H), 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (bztH), or pyrazoles (pz*H), to afford fac-[Re(kappa(3)-H(mu-H)B(tim(Me))(2)(CO)(3)] (2), fac-[Re(kappa(3)-H(mu-H)B(tim(Me))(bzt))(CO)(3)] (3), fac-[Re(kappa(3)-H(mu-H)B(tim(Me))(pz))(CO)(3)] (4), fac-[Re(kappa(3)-HB(tim(Me))(pz)(2))(CO)(3)] (5), and fac-[Re(kappa(3)-H(mu-H)B(tim(Me))(3,5-Me(2)-4-EtOOCCH(2)pz))(CO)(3)] (6). Complexes 2-6 are stabilized by tridentate poly(azolyl)borates generated in situ, and their formation involves most probably a metal-assisted process which is considerably faster for the pyrazole derivatives. The characterization of the novel complexes, 3-6, has been done by common analytical techniques, including single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The solid state structures confirmed the presence of hybrid heteroscopionates, presenting (kappa(3)-H, S, S'), (kappa(3)-H, S, N), or (kappa(3)-S, N, N) binding motifs. Multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C, and (11)B) NMR studies have also shown that the coordination mode found in the solid state is retained in solution.