Although it is a simple molecule, diisocyanomethane, H2C(NC)2, was not isolated and char...

Although it is a simple molecule, diisocyanomethane, H₂C(NC)₂, was not isolated and characterized by X-ray crystallography until rather recently. This compound has been used in organometallic synthesis as follows: was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and photolyzed, liberating some CO and forming compound Q . At –40 °C, a solution of H₂C(NC)₂ in dichloromethane was added to a solution of Q . Column chromatography of the resulting solution led to the isolation of compound R , which had the following characteristics: ¹H NMR (in CD₂Cl₂ ): δ 4.71 (relative area 5) 5.01, (2); ¹³C NMR: δ 50.1, 83.4, 162.0, 210.5, 228.1; IR: 2147, 2086, 2010, 1903 cm^-1. Suggest structures for Q and R . (See J. Buschmann, R. Bartolmas, D. Lentz, P. Luger, I. Neubert, M. Rottger, Angew. Chem. , Intl. Ed. , 1997 , 36 , 2372.)