Probing the Interactions of Transition Metal Complexes Bound at the Ortho Position of Substituted Biphenyls

(4,4′-dimethylbipyridyl)NiMe2 was found to react thermally with 2-iodo-2′,4′,6′-trimethylbiphenyl (6) to produce a C-I insertion that is extremely distorted from square planarity, with the C-Ni-I plane intersect- ing the N-Ni-N plane by 33.4°. It was also found that [(dippe)RhCl]2 reacts with 6 to produce an η3-benzylic complex by way of a rhodium migration to the methyl-