Introducing Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry to Identify Site-Selective C-H Bond Activation in N-Heterocyclic Carbene Metal Complexes.

The activation of C-H bonds in a selective manner still constitutes a major challenge from a synthetic point of view; thus, it remains an active area of fundamental and applied research. Herein, we introduce ion mobility spectrometry mass spectrometry-based (IM-MS) approaches to uncover site-selective C-H bond activation in a series of metal complexes of general formula [(NHC)LMCl] (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene; L = pentamethylcyclopentadiene (Cp*) or -cymene; M = Pd, Ru, and Ir). The C-H bond activation at the N-bound groups of the NHC ligand is promoted upon collision induced dissociation (CID). The identification of the resulting [(NHC-H)LM] isomers relies on the distinctive topology that such cyclometalated isomers adopt upon site-selective C-H bond activation. Such topological differences can be reliably evidenced as different mobility peaks in their respective CID-IM mass spectra. Alternative isomers are also identified via dehydrogenation at the Cp*/-cymene (L) ligands to afford [(NHC)(L-H)M]. The fragmentation of the ion mobility-resolved peaks is also investigated by CID-IM-CID. It enables the assignment of mobility peaks to the specific isomers formed from C(sp)-H or C(sp)-H bond activation and distinguishes them from the Cp*/-cymene (L) dehydrogenation isomers. The conformational change of the NHC ligands upon C-H bond activation, concomitant with cyclometalation, is also discussed on the basis of the estimated collision cross section (CCS). A unique conformation change of the pyrene-tagged NHC members is identified that involves the reorientation of the NHC ring accompanied by a folding of the pyrene moiety.