Synthesis and characterization of three group 10 complexes containing nido-carborane diphosphine: [MCl(PPh3){7,8-(PPh2)2-7,8-C2B9H10}] (M = Ni, Pd, Pt)

Three group 10 complexes containing nido-carborane diphosphine, [NiCl(PPh3){7,8-(PPh2)2-7,8-C2B9H10}] (1), [PdCl(PPh3){7,8-(PPh2)2-7,8-C2B9H10}] · 1.25CH2Cl2 (2) and [PtCl(PPh3){7,8-(PPh2)2-7,8-C2B9H10}] · 2.5CH2Cl2 (3) have been synthesized by the reactions of [M(PPh3)2Cl2] (M = Ni, Pd, Pt) with closo carborane diphosphine 1,2-(PPh2)2-1,2-C2B10H10 in ethanol. For complex 3, it could also be obtained under solvothermal condition. All three complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and X-ray structure determination. Single crystal structures show that their structures are similar to each other. In each complex, the nido [7,8-(PPh2)2-7,8-C2B9H10]−, which resulted from the degradation of the initial closo ligand 1,2-(PPh2)2-1,2-C2B10H10 during the reaction process, was coordinated bidentately through the P atoms to M(II) ion, and this resulted in a stable five-membered chelating ring between the bis-diphosphine ligand and the metal. The coordination mode of the metal can be described as a slightly distorted square-planar, in which the remaining two positions were occupied by one Cl− and one PPh3 group.