No abstract

The reaction between [Pd(2)(dba)(3)] (dba = dibenzylideneacetone), tributylphosphine, and a bis(cycloalkeno)-1,4-diselenin leads to either a mononuclear diselenolene [Pd[SeC(R(1))=C(R(2))Se](PBu(3))(2)] or a dinuclear diselenolene [Pd(2)[SeC(R(1))=C(R(2))Se](2)(PBu(3))(2)] [R(1), R(2) = (CH(2))(n), n = 4, 5, 6] depending on the stoichiometry employed. Treatment of the dinuclear diselenolenes with 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) provides a high-yielding route to the mononuclear species [Pd[SeC(R(1))=C(R(2))Se](dppe)]. All new compounds have been characterized by standard spectroscopic and analytical techniques, in particular by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy; the structure of each of the mononuclear tributylphosphine complexes has been determined by X-ray crystallography. Computational studies show that the observed asymmetry of the diselenolenes in the solid state is a result primarily of intramolecular repulsive interactions between the ligands.

The tetrachalcogenides [ME4(dppe)] (M = Pd, E = S; M = Pt, E = S, Se) react with the activated alkynes RO2CC≡CCO2R (R = Me, Et) to form the dithiolenes and diselenolenes [M{E2C2(CO2R)2}(dppe)]; the structures of the compounds with E = S, R = Et have been determined by X‐ray crystallography; [PdS4(dppe)] also reacts with the carbene complex [W(CO)5{C(OEt)C≡CPh}] to yield the bimetallic dithiolene [Pd{S2C2[C(OEt)W(CO)5]Ph}(dppe)].