Questions remain as to why the title compound 1 was never isolated before; contrary to long-held opinion, this compound is not unstable. With a modified version of the original procedure by H.-W. Wanzlick et al. for the synthesis of the imidazolium salt starting material, 1 has now been isolated as a stable crystalline solid at room temperature.
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Arduengo et al. (1998) studied this question.
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