Potentially Tridentate Hydrazonic Ligands in the Synthesis of Methyl and Acetyl Palladium(II) Complexes

Abstract

Potentially tridentate hydrazonic ligands of the type HNNO have been used in the synthesis of some methyl palladium(II) complexes. Depending on the applied experimental conditions two different kinds of complexes are obtained. Thus, the reactions between HL1–HL5 and (COD)PdMeCl in diethyl ether led to the formation of bidentate methyl complexes of the type Pd(HNN)MeCl (1–5), where the ligands maintain a neutral character. However, in the presence of a base such as Et3N or NaOMe, the ligands are deprotonated with the consequent formation of tridentate methyl complexes of the type Pd(NNO)Me (7–10). In solution, complexes 1–5 tend to lose the hydrazonic proton with elimination of methane and formation of a tridentate chloride complex Pd(NNO)Cl (6); this tendency can be correlated with the acidity of the free ligands, which has been determined. On bubbling carbon monoxide through solutions of 1–5, the corresponding acetyl complexes Pd(HNN)[C(O)Me]Cl (11–15) are formed, in which both the cis and trans isomers are present. Their molar ratio is rationalised from the results of a molecular modelling study on the basis of electronic considerations. A remarkably different reactivity has been found in the carbonylation of the tridentate complexes 7–10: they decompose rapidly and quantitatively to palladium black and an organic product corresponding to the ligand with an acetyl group bonded to the hydrazonic nitrogen. The X-ray structures of a methyl complex (3) and its corresponding acetyl (13) derivative have been determined.