Photochemistry of platinum phosphine complexes. Perspective in CH bond activation

Abstract

The photochemistry of the diphosphino Pt(II) hydrides [LPtH 2] (L=(t-Bu) 2P(CH 2) 2P(t-Bu) 2 ( 7); L=(t-Bu) 2P(CH 2) 3P(t-Bu) 2 ( 8);L=(t-Bu)(Ph)P(CH 2) 2P(Ph)(t-Bu) ( 9)) is reported. The primary photoevent is the dissociation of H 2 and formation of the 14-e [LPt] species. These coordinatively unsaturated intermediates provide a versatile entry point into the CH bond activation of hydrocarbons. [LPt] reacts with benzene in an oxidative addition reaction to yield [LPt(H)(C 6H 5)] complexes. The importance of the metal centre and ancillary ligation in the CH bond activation is discussed.