An Innovative Structural Rearrangement in Imine Palladacycle Metaloligand Chemistry: From Single-Nuclear to Double-Nuclear Pseudo-Pentacoordinated Complexes

Abstract

Treatment of the double nuclear complex 1a, di-μ-cloro-bis[N-(4-formylbenzylidene)cyclohexylaminato-C6, N]dipalladium, with Ph2PCH2CH2)2PPh (triphos) and NH4PF6 gave the single nuclear species 2a, 1-N-(cyclohexylamine)-4-N-(formyl)palladium(triphos)(hexafluorophasphate). Reaction of 2a with Ph2PCH2CH2NH2 in refluxing chloroform via a condensation reaction of the amine and formyl groups to produce the C=N double bond, gave 3a, 1-N-(cyclohexylamine)-4- N-(diphenylphosphinoethylamine)palladium(triphos)(hexafluorophasphate); a potentially bidentate [N,P] metaloligand. However, attempts to coordinate a second metal by treatment of 3a with [PdCl2(PhCN)2] were to no avail. Notwithstanding, complexes 2a and 3a left to stand in solution spontaneously self-transformed to give in either case the double nuclear complex 10, 1,4-N,N-terephthalylidene(cyclohexilamine)-3,6-[bispalladium(triphos)]di(hexafluorophosphate), after undergoing further metalation of the phenyl ring, then bearing two mutually trans [Pd(Ph2PCH2CH2)2PPh)-P,P,P] moieties: an unprecedented and serendipitous result indeed. On the other hand, reaction of the double nuclear complex 1b, di-μ-cloro-bis[N-(3-formylbenzylidene)cyclohexylaminato-C6, N]dipalladium, with Ph2PCH2CH2)2PPh (triphos) and NH4PF6 gave the single nuclear species 2b, 1-N-(cyclohexylamine)-4-N-(formyl)palladium(triphos)(hexafluorophasphate), Treatment of 2b with H2O/glacial MeCOOH gave cleavage of the C=N double bond and of the Pd···N interaction, yielding 5b, isophthalaldehyde-6-palladium(triphos)hexafluorophosphate, which then reacted with Ph2P(CH2)3NH2 to yield complex 6b, N,N-(isophthalylidene(diphenylphosphinopropylamine)-6-(palladiumtriphos)di(hexafluorophosphate), with two pairs of non-coordinated nitrogen and phosphorus donor atoms. Treatment of 6b with [PdCl2(PhCN)2], [PtCl2(PhCN)2], or [PtMe2(COD)] gave the new double nuclear complexes 7b, 8b and 9b, palladiumdichloro-, platinumdichloro- and platinumdimethyl[N,N-(isophthalylidene(diphenylphosphinopropylamine)-6-(palladiumtriphos)(hexafluorophosphate)-P,P], respectively, showing the behavior of 6b as a palladated bidentate [P,P] metaloligand. The complexes were fully characterized by microanalysis, IR, 1H, and 31P NMR spectroscopies, as appropriate. The X-ray single-crystal analyses for compounds 10 and 5b have been previously described as the perchlorate salts by JM Vila et al.