Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.47, No.18, 8031-8043, 2008
Synthesis, structures, and solution dynamics of palladium complexes of quinoline-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes
A new type of quinoline-functionalized palladium N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes has been synthesized via silver transmetallation. The quinoline moiety was either directly attached to the imidazole ring or linked to it by a methylene group. NHCs with a methylene linker tend to form trans biscarbene complexes in the reaction of Pd(COD)Cl-2, while NHCs without any linker form chelating NHC-quinoline (NHC-N) complexes. These two types of carbenes also react with [Pd(allyl)CI](2) to give monodentate NHC palladium eta(3)-allyl chlorides [Pd(NHC)(allyl)Cl]. Fluxionality in the NMR time scale was observed for most complexes, and the origin of their dynamic behaviors was discussed for each type of structure. For [Pd(NHC)(allyl)CI) with a relatively small wing tip group of the NHC, the fluxionality (selective line-broadening of H-1 NMR signals) is caused by selective eta(3)-eta(1)-eta(3) allyl isomerization. For NHC with a bulkier Bu-t group, a different line-broadening pattern was observed and was ascribed to partially hindered Pd-C-carbene, bond rotation. For cationic chelating complexes [Pd(NHC-N)(allyl)]BF4, the dynamic exchange process likely originates from a dissociative boat-to-boat inversion of 7-membered palladacycles. Activation parameters were measured for this process. Crystal structures were reported for representative complexes in each category.