Metal-coordinated 1,3-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene ligands undergo osm
ylation by means of osmium tetraoxide to yield a new type of bimetalli
c, redox-stable complexes es with metals in, very different oxidation
states (e.g. Cr-0/Os-VI). This oxy functionalization does not influenc
e the metal-carbene bond in a significant way (IR and NMR spectra, sin
gle-crystal X-ray diffraction structure).