Construction of a planar tetrapalladium cluster by the reaction of palladium(0) bis(isocyanide) with cyclic tetrasilane

Abstract

The planar tetrapalladium cluster Pd4{Si(iPr)2}3(CNtBu)4 (4) was synthesised in 86% isolated yield by the reaction of palladium(0) bis(isocyanide) Pd(CNtBu)2 with octaisopropylcyclotetrasilane (3). In the course of this reaction, the palladium atoms are clustered via insertion into the Si-Si bonds of 3, followed by extrusion of one SiiPr2 moiety and reorganisation to afford 4 with a 54-electron configuration. The CNtBu ligand in 4 was found to be easily replaced by N-heterocyclic carbene (iPr2IMMe) to afford the more coordinatively unsaturated cluster Pd4{Si(iPr)2}3(iPr2IMMe)3 (5) having the planar Pd4Si3 core. On the other hand, the replacement of CNtBu with a sterically compact ligand trimethylolpropane phosphite {P(OCH2)3CEt} led to a planar tripalladium cluster Pd3{Si(iPr)2}3{P(OCH2)3CEt}3 (6) and Pd{P(OCH2)3CEt}4 in 1:1 molar ratio as products.