N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of palladium and rhodium: cis/trans-isomers

Stable carbene complexes of palladium or rhodium are readily accessible by (i) reaction of imidazolium or triazolium salts with palladium complexes bearing basic ligands or rhodium alkoxide complexes, (ii) adduct formation of the free carbene, e.g. 1,3-dimethylimidazoline-2-ylidene, with metal compounds. In the case of palladium(II) and rhodium(I), the resulting complexes show cis/trans-isomerization and can be compared to analogous phosphine complexes.