Phosphenium Hydride Reduction of [(cod)MX2] (M = Pd, Pt; X = Cl, Br): Snapshots on the Way to Phosphenium Metal(0) Halides and Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles

The outcome of the reduction of [(cod)PtX2] (X = Cl, Br; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) with N-heterocyclic phosphenium hydrides RNHP–H depends strongly on the steric demand of the N-aryl group R and the nature of X. Reaction of [(cod)PtCl2] with DippNHP–H featuring bulky N-Dipp groups produced an unprecedented monomeric phosphenium metal(0) halide [(DippNHP)(DippNHP–H)PtCl] stabilized by a single phosphine ligand. The phosphenium unit exhibits a pyramidal coordination geometry at the phosphorus atom and may according to DFT calculations be classified as a Z-type ligand. In contrast, reaction of [(cod)PtBr2] with the sterically less protected MesNHP–H afforded a mixture of donor-ligand free oligonuclear complexes [{(MesNHP)PtBr}n] (n = 2, 3), which are structural analogues of known palladium complexes with μ2-bridging phosphenium units. All reductions studied proceed via spectroscopically detectable intermediates, several of which could be unambiguously identified by means of multinuclear (1H, 31P, 195Pt) NMR ...