Modern Organometallic Multidentate Ligand Design Strategies: The Birth of the Privileged “Pincer” Ligand Platform. In: van Koten G, Gossage RA, editors. The Privileged Pincer-Metal Platform: Coordination Chemistry & Applications. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2016. pp. 1-15. [DOI: 10.1007/3418_2015_131]

Reactions of Nickel(0)-Olefin Pincer Complexes with Terminal Alkynes: Cooperative C-H Bond Activation and Alkyne Coupling

Metal-ligand cooperation can facilitate the activation of chemical bonds, opening reaction pathways of interest for catalyst development. In this context, olefins occupying the central position of a diphosphine pincer ligand (PC=CP) are emerging as reversible H atom acceptors, e.g., for H2 activation. Here, we report on the reactivity of nickel complexes of PC=CP ligands with a terminal alkyne, for which two competing pathways are observed. First, cooperative and reversible C-H bond activation generates a Ni(II) alkyl/alkynyl complex as the kinetic product. Second, in the absence of a bulky substituent on the olefin, two alkyne molecules are incorporated in the ligand structure to form a conjugated triene bound to Ni(0). The mechanisms of these processes are studied by density functional theory calculations supported by experimental observations.

Which Type of Pincer Complex Is Thermodynamically More Stable? Understanding the Structures and Relative Bond Strengths of Group 10 Metal Complexes Supported by Benzene-Based PYCYP Pincer Ligands

The influence of the pincer platform composition and substitution on the reactivity and physical properties of pincer complexes can be easily explored through different experimental techniques. However, the influence of these factors on the molecular structures and thermodynamic stability of pincer complexes is usually very subtle and cannot always be unambiguously established. To rationalize this subtle influence, a survey of crystallographic data from 130 group 10 metal pincer complexes supported by benzene-based PYCYP pincer ligands, [2,6-(R₂PY)₂C₆H_3-nR'_n]MX (Y = CH₂, NH, O, S; M = Ni, Pd, Pt; R = ^tBu, ⁱPr, Ph, Cy, Me; R' = CO₂Me, ^tBu, CF₃, Ac; n = 0-2; X = F, Cl, Br, I, H, SH, SPh, SBn, Ph, Me, N₃, NCS), was carried out. Theoretical calculations for some selected complexes were performed to evaluate the relative bond strength. It was found that the M-C_ipso bond length decreases following the linker series of CH₂ > NH > O and that the relative M-C_ipso bond strength increases following the linker series of CH₂ < NH < O. In most cases, the M-P bond length decreases following the linker series of NH > CH₂ > O. The relative M-P bond strength increases following the linker series of CH₂ < NH < O. A comparison of the thermochemical balance for the isodesmic displacement of the side-arm interactions with PH₃ as a probe ligand indicated that the Ni-P bond in a PCCCP-type pincer complex is far less difficult to break compared with that in a POCOP-type complex. As a result, with the same donor substituents and the same auxiliary ligand, the POCOP-type pincer complexes are thermodynamically more stable than the PCCCP complexes. The influence of other backbone and donor substitutions as well as the pincer platform composition on the M-C_ipso, M-P, and M-X bond lengths, relative bond strengths, and P-M-P bite angles was also discussed.

Diphosphino-Functionalized 1,8-Naphthyridines: a Multifaceted Ligand Platform for Boranes and Diboranes

A 1,8-naphthyridine diphosphine (NDP) reacts with boron-containing Lewis acids to generate complexes featuring a number of different naphthyridine bonding modes. When exposed to diborane B2 Br4 , NDP underwent self-deprotonation to afford [NDP-B2 Br3 ]Br, an unsymmetrical diborane comprised of four fused rings. The reaction of two equivalents of monoborane BBr3 and NDP in a non-polar solvent provided the simple phosphine-borane adduct [NDP(BBr3 )2 ], which then underwent intramolecular halide abstraction to furnish the salt [NDP-BBr2 ][BBr4 ], featuring a different coordination mode from that of [NDP-B2 Br3 ]Br. Direct deprotonation of NDP by KHMDS or PhCH2 K generates mono- and dipotassium reagents, respectively. The monopotassium reagent reacts with one or half an equivalent of B2 (NMe2 )2 Cl2 to afford NDP-based diboranes with three or four amino substituents.

Cobalt-Pincer Complexes in Catalysis

Non-noble metal catalysts based on pincer type compounds are of special interest for organometallic chemistry and organic synthesis. Next to iron and manganese, currently cobalt-pincer type complexes are successfully applied in various catalytic reactions. In this review the recent progress in (de)hydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation, hydroboration and hydrosilylation as well as dehydrogenative coupling reactions using cobalt-pincer complexes is summarised.