The addition of lead to diphenyl
diselenide in ethylenediamine
(en) or pyridine (py) allowed for the observation of the solvento
complexes, (en)Pb(SePh)2 or (py)2Pb(SePh)2, respectively. Performing this reaction in dimethyl sulfoxide
and subsequent crystallization was found to afford Pb(SePh)2. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy revealed
a 1:2 lead to selenium ratio for all three complexes. Nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy confirms that Pb(SePh)2 is readily
solubilized by ethylenediamine, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry
supports the presence of Pb(SePh)2 moieties in solution.
Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the pyridine adduct,
(py)2Pb(SePh)2, revealed a seesaw molecular
geometry featuring equatorial phenylselenolate ligands. Crystals of
Pb(SePh)2 grown from dimethyl sulfoxide revealed one-dimensional
polymeric chains of Pb(SePh)2. We believe that the lead(II)
phenylselenolate complexes form via an oxidative addition reaction.