Zinc Hydride Complexes Stabilized by Anionic <i>N</i> ‐Heterocyclic Carbenes for Hydrosilylation of Aldehydes and Ketones

An anionic N ‐heterocyclic carbene ligand with a weakly coordinating borate entity in the backbone (WCA‐NHC) is employed in the preparation of zwitterionic zinc complexes. Among these, zinc hydride species [(WCA‐IDipp)ZnH] 2 and [(WCA‐IDipp)ZnH(THF) 2 ] (WCA = B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 , IDipp = 1,3‐bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin‐2‐ylidene) were obtained either as a dinuclear zinc complex with two bridging hydrides or as a monomeric complex with a single terminal hydride, respectively. In these zwitterionic complexes, the positive charge at zinc is compensated by the anionic carbene ligand WCA‐IDipp. The overall neutral complexes display excellent solubility in organic solvents and were demonstrated as efficient catalysts in hydrosilylation reactions of aldehydes and ketones.