Designing Stability into Thermally Reactive Plumbylenes.

Lead analogues of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHPbs) are the least understood members of this increasingly important class of compounds. Here we report the design, preparation, isolation, structure, volatility, and decomposition pathways of a novel aliphatic NHPb: rac- N , N -di- tert-butylbutane-2,3-diamido lead(II) (1Pb). The large steric bulk of the tert-butylamido moieties and rac-butane backbone successfully hinder redox decomposition pathways observed for diamidoethylene and -ethane backbone analogues, pushing the onset of thermal decomposition from below 0 °C to above 150 °C. With an exceptionally high vapor pressure of 1 Torr at 94 ± 2 °C and excellent thermal stability among Pb(II) complexes, 1Pb is a promising precursor for the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) of functional lead-containing materials.