Abstract
The nuclearity of two previously prepared nickel complexes, [LNiCl(μ-Cl)] 2 .2CH 3 OH (1) and L'NiCh (2) (L - bis(l-methylbenzimidazoyl-2-methyl)amine and L' - bis(l-methylbenzimidazoyl-2- methyl)-10-camphorsulfonamide), was found to be temperature-dependent. Mononuclear [LNi(CH 3 OH) 2 Cl]Cl.2H 2 0 (3) and dinuclear [L'NiCl(μ-Cl)] 2 (4) were obtained as crystals at -20 °C. It is noteworthy that complex 2 can catalyze the conjugate addition of thiophenols to a,ß-enones in high yields; in contrast, the same reaction catalyzed by NiCl 2 THF or complex 3 was far less effective. © 2009 American Chemical Society.