title: Reactivity of (ferrocenylmethyl)phosphine toward palladium and platinum chlorides. X-ray structure of [Pd(PH2CH2Fc)Cl(mu-PHCH2Fc)]4 (Fc = ferrocenyl), a unique complex containing a Pd4P4 cycle.
abstract: The reaction of 2 equiv of the air-stable primary phosphine (ferrocenylmethyl)phosphine (PH2CH2Fc, 1) with [Pd(cod)Cl2] (Fc = ferrocenyl; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) at 298 K gave the phosphanido-bridged Pd(II) tetramer [Pd(PH2CH2Fc)Cl(mu-PHCH2Fc)]4 (2), which shows an unprecedented arrangement of four Pd atoms embedded in an eight-membered Pd4P4 ring. An X-ray diffraction study showed that 2 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P with a = 17.607(7) A, b = 17.944(7) A, c = 18.792(7) A, alpha = 107.120(12) degrees, beta = 96.344(13) degrees, gamma = 117.087(15) degrees . Each molecule contains four palladium atoms in a distorted square-planar coordination formed by one chlorine and three phosphorus atoms. Two of the latter belong to bridging primary phosphanides and the remaining one is contributed by a terminal PH2CH2Fc ligand. The coordination environments of neighboring metal centers adopt an almost perpendicular mutual orientation. The reaction of 2 equiv of 1 with [Pt(cod)Cl2] at 323 K yielded the analogous Pt(II) tetramer of formula [Pt(PH2CH2Fc)Cl(mu-PHCH2Fc)]4 (3), which was fully characterized by multinuclear and dynamic NMR, IR, and elemental analyses. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction on 3 confirmed the tetranuclear arrangement in the solid state, but orientational disorder of the molecule precludes a more detailed discussion of the structure. Low-temperature NMR experiments in CD2Cl2 showed the presence of two slowly interconnecting conformers. Reaction of 1 and [M(cod)Cl2] (M = Pd or Pt) at lower temperatures (273 K for Pd, 295 K for Pt) in dichloromethane allowed the detection in solution of the mononuclear species cis-[M(PH2CH2Fc)2Cl2] (M = Pd, 4; M = Pt, 5) which, upon heating, transformed into the tetramers 2 and 3, respectively. Solid samples of 4 and 5 could be isolated after workup at low temperature and were characterized by conventional spectroscopic methods.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria delle Acque e di Chimica del Politecnico di Bari, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Michela
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Dell'Anna
authors.forename: Ulli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Englert
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Latronico
authors.forename: Pablo Lorenzo
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Luis
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mastrorilli
authors.forename: Daniela Giardina
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.forename: Cosimo Francesco
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Nobile
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peruzzini