A novel trinuclear palladium cluster compound: di-mu 3-chloro-tris

Abstract

The title triangular tripalladium cluster, [Pd3­Cl5­(C18­H15P)3]·­C3H6O, (I), has a trigonal-bipyramidal framework of Pd3(μ3-Cl)2, with the two Cl atoms in apical positions. Each Pd atom in the framework has two additional coordination sites to establish square-planar cis-PdL2(μ3-Cl)2 geometry. Three P atoms are located on the same side of the plane defined by the Pd3 triangle, which leads to a pseudo-C3v symmetry for the core framework of Pd3(μ3-Cl)2P3Cl3. The average Pd—Cl distance trans to PPh3 is 2.473 (8) Å, which is significantly longer than the average Pd—Cl distance of 2.294 (4) Å for those trans to terminal Cl, due to the strong trans effect of a P atom compared with a Cl atom. Compound (I) has 49 valence electrons and shows a rhombic electron-spin resonance signal, indicating an S = ½ ground state.