A synthesis has been developed that allows the isolation of four-coordinate [(tpy)Ni-Br] (1, tpy = terpyridine) in high yield. Complex 1 has been structurally characterized, and the X-ray data reveal a square-planar geometry, unlike the known [(tpy')Ni-I] (tpy' = 4,4',4''-tri-tert-butyl-terpyridine) but similar to [(tpy)Ni-CH(3)]. In the solid-state, EPR spectroscopy indicates, however, that unlike [(tpy)Ni-CH(3)], the electronic structure of 1 is a metal-centered, not a ligand-centered radical. Density functional theory (DFT) analyses support this assignment. The preparation of 1 also facilitated the analysis of the redox potentials of a series of terpyridine nickel derivatives. It was found that the overall ligand sphere (one vs two coordinated terpyridine ligands) plays more of a role in determining the redox potentials of these derivatives than do the formal oxidation states of the nickel ions in the solution phase.

The electochemical oxidation of palladium acetate or palladium perfluoroacetate in the presence of 2phenylpyridine promotes catalytic ortho C−H substitution reactions. As possible intermediates, Pd(II) metallacycles with Pd-bound acetate, perfluoroacetate, and perfluoroheptanoate substituents have been isolated and characterized: binuclear [(PhPy)Pd(μ-OAc)] 2 and [(PhPy)Pd(μ-TFA)] 2 and mononuclear [(PhPy)Pd(TFA)](CH 3 CN), [(PhPy)Pd(TFA)]-(PhPy), and [(PhPy)Pd(PFH)](PhPy). The fluorinated derivatives were found to exist in solvent-dependent equilibria between mononuclear and binuclear forms. Cyclic voltammetry was used to elucidate redox properties of the palladacycles and the oxidation route to the final products.

A one‐step catalytic method for the ortho‐fluoroalkylation of 2‐phenylpyridine has been developed that employs the less‐commonly used higher oxidation states of nickel or palladium by electro‐oxidation of stable MII precursors.

Electrocatalytic generation of nickel catalysts in low oxidation states by reduction of nickel complexes with various ligands (2,2'-bipyridine, 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, (S,S)-2,6-bis(4-phenyl-2-oxazolin-2-yl)-pyridine) in the presence of olefinic substrates and fluoroalkyl halides leads to new organic products derived from addition-dimerization processes. Due to the presence of two stereocenters in the dimerization products two diastereomers were characterized by a variety of analytical techniques including multi-dimensional NMR methods and X-ray single crystal diffraction. The formation of dimers was prevented by the inclusion of the hydrogen atom donor tributyltin hydride. The cyclic voltammetry study of selected nickel complexes along with fluoroalkyl halides demonstrated that Ni(I)L is the active form of the catalyst.

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