New pentamethylcyclopentadienyl rhodium and iridium complexes containing arylazoimidazole ligands: Crystal and molecular structure of the complex [(η5-C5Me5)RhCl(Me–C6H4–NN–C3H3N2)]+

The dimeric [{(η5-C5Me5)M(μ-Cl)Cl}2] complexes (η5-C5Me5 =pentamethylcyclopentadienyl; M=Rh and Ir) react with several arylazoimidazole (RaaiR′) ligands, viz., 2-(phenylazo)imidazole (Phai-H), 1-methyl-2-(phenylazo)imidazole (Phai-Me), 1-ethyl-2-(phenylazo)imidazole (Phai-Et), 2-(tolylazo)imidazole (Tai-H), 1-methyl-2-(tolylazo)imidazole (Tai-Me) and 1-ethyl-2-(tolylazo)imidazole (Tai-Et), to afford complexes of the type …