PdCl[PPh2CH2CH2CHCH2CH2PPh2] as a precursor to homo- and hetero-metallic species directed by ESMS (electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry)

Synthesis, characterization, and application of palladium complexes containing bis(aminophosphine) ligands

Two palladium complexes containing bis(aminophosphine) ligands have been prepared and characterized. Their solid structures were determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction studies. They were successfully employed in the Suzuki coupling reactions of phenylboronic acid and various aryl chlorides.

A synthetic, catalytic and theoretical investigation of an unsymmetrical SCN pincer palladacycle

The SCN ligand 2-{3-[(methylsulfanyl)methyl]phenyl}pyridine, 1, has been synthesized starting from an initial Suzuki-Miyaura (SM) coupling between 3-((hydroxymethyl)phenyl)boronic acid and 2-bromopyridine. The C-H activation of 1 with in situ formed Pd(MeCN)4(BF4)2 has been studied and leads to a mixture of palladacycles, which were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The monomeric palladacycle LPdCl 6, where L-H = 1, has been synthesized, and tested in SM couplings of aryl bromides, where it showed moderate activity. Density functional theory and the atoms in molecules (AIM) method have been used to investigate the formation and bonding of 6, revealing a difference in the nature of the Pd-S and Pd-N bonds. It was found that S-coordination to the metal in the rate determining C-H bond activation step leads to better stabilization of the Pd(II) centre (by 13-28 kJ mol(-1)) than with N-coordination. This is attributed to the electron donating ability of the donor atoms determined by Bader charges. The AIM analysis also revealed that the Pd-N bonds are stronger than the Pd-S bonds influencing the stability of key intermediates in the palladacycle formation reaction pathway.

Frustrated Lewis pair-like reactions of nucleophilic palladium carbenes with B(C6F5)3

Nucleophilic palladium carbenes react with the strong Lewis acid B(C₆F₅)₃via remote nucleophilic attack at the para-carbon of the supporting ligand or C–F activation of B(C₆F₅)₃; these reactions indicate frustrated Lewis pair-like behaviour given the steric inaccessibility of the nucleophilic carbene center.

Studies on gas-phase cyclometalations of [ArNi(PPh3)n]+ (n = 1 or 2) by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Gas-phase cyclometalation of [ArNi(PPh(3))(n)](+) (n = 1, 2) complexes have been studied by ESI-MS/MS. The electron-donating substituents of aromatic iodides in the para position were found to inhibit the cyclometalation process of losing ArH, while the electron-withdrawing substituents in the para position were found to enhance it. These results indicate that the cyclometalation process of losing ArH is favored by electron-deficient aromatic groups. In addition, the detailed dissociation pathways of the cationic nickel complexes were studied, and among these pathways, the process of aryl-aryl interchange was also found to proceed in ESI-MS/MS.