Bridging coordination of acenaphthylene to a Pd3 chain or a Pd4 sheet cluster

The coordination behaviour of multinuclear clusters to fused arene ligands is of continuous interest due to its relevance to metal catalysts supported by graphitic carbon materials. Herein, we report the bridging coordination behaviour of acenaphthylene to a Pd₃ or a Pd₄ cluster. A bis-acenaphthylene Pd₃ chain cluster and an acenaphthylene-COT Pd₄ sheet cluster were isolated, and the μ₃-π-coordination mode or the μ₄-oxidative π-addition mode of the acenaphthylene ligand in each cluster was elucidated by X-ray structure analysis.

Thiophene and Selenophene Binding at a Pd3 Cluster Site

We report the triply bridging coordination of thiophene and selenophene to a trinuclear metal cluster site. The triply bridging coordination of selenophene at a Pd₃ site forms a unique spiro-type Pd₅ cluster. Furthermore, either thiophene or selenophene is accommodated stably at a Pd₃ site supported by a backside μ₃ -cyclooctatetraene ligand through the face-capping μ₃ -coordination. The Pd₃ site supported by the cyclooctatetraene ligand showed higher binding affinity of benzene over thiophene, although a Pd₂ site strongly favors thiophene over benzene.

Three-Dimensional Sandwich Nanocubes Composed of 13-Atom Palladium Core and Hexakis-Carbocycle Shell

Coordination of cyclic unsaturated hydrocarbons to transition metal generally gives bis-ligated sandwich complexes, which are a fundamental class of organometallic compounds. This sandwich structure may be extended to a higher-order three-dimensional one when more than two carbocyclic ligands surround an agglomerate of many transition metal atoms. Here, we report synthesis of three-dimensional sandwich nanocube compounds containing a close-packed transition metal cluster core. Reduction of a [Pd₃(μ₃-C₇H₇)₂]²⁺ with tetraarylborate under neat conditions afforded [Pd₁₃(μ₄-C₇H₇)₆]²⁺ containing a cuboctahedral Pd₁₃ core with an octahedral ligand-shell.

Bimodal coordination of fused arenes to a Pd3 cluster site

We report bimodal coordination of fused arenes to a Pd₃ cluster site. The oxidative π-addition mode of anthracene and tetracene as well as the π-coordination mode of triphenylene and fluoranthene were identified.

Multinuclear silver(I) XPhos complexes with cyclooctatetraene: photochemical C-C bond cleavage of acetonitrile and cyanide bridged Ag cluster formation

Cationic mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-nuclear silver complexes with Buchwald-type phosphane (XPhos) and cyclooctatetraene (COT) have been synthesized and characterized. Formation of [(XPhos-Ag)n(COT)][SbF6]n (n = 1 and 2) complexes was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray crystallography and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy in CD2Cl2 solution shows the fluxionality of the COT ring in the mono-Ag(i) XPhos complex. Fluxionality of COT was also confirmed in the case of the di-Ag(i) XPhos complex by solid-state and solution (31)P NMR spectroscopy. The C-C bond cleavage of coordinated acetonitrile [XPhos-Ag(i)-NCCH3] resulting in cyanide bridged Ag cluster formation [(XPhos-Ag)2(μ-CN)n(μ-Ag)n-1] (n = 1, 2, 3 and 4) upon light excitation of [(XPhos-Ag)n(COT)] was confirmed by HRESI-MS, UV-Absorption and HR-TEM.

A mechanistic insight into metal-cluster π-envelopment: a dual binding mode involving bent and planar ligand-conformers

We report a stepwise mechanism of the π-envelopment of a Pd₄ chain cluster. Bent- and planar binding modes of π-conjugated unsaturated hydrocarbon ligands are involved in the π-envelopment process.

Modulation of benzene or naphthalene binding to palladium cluster sites by the backside-ligand effect

The backside-ligand modulation strategy to enhance the substrate binding property of Pd clusters is reported. The benzene or naphthalene binding ability of Pd3 or Pd4 clusters is enhanced significantly by the backside cyclooctatetraene ligand, leading to the formation of the first solution-stable benzene- or naphthalene Pd clusters. The present results imply that the ligand design of the metal clusters, especially for the backside ligand of the metal cluster site, is crucial to acquire a desired reactivity of metal clusters.