Palladium and Platinum Complexes Containing Diphenyl-2-(3-methyl)indolylphosphine

Syntheses and characterisation of group ten complexes containing the ligand diphenyl-2-(3-methyl)indolylphosphine are presented herein. The complexes [trans-PdCl2{PPh2(C9H8N)}2] (1), [cis-PtCl2{PPh2(C9H8N)}2] (2), [trans-Pd(CH3)Cl{PPh2(C9H8N)}2] (3) and [trans-Pt(CH3)Cl{PPh2(C9H8N)}2] (4) have all been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. In all cases, the ligands coordinate to the metal centres via the phosphorus donor atom (κ1-P) and the pendent NH groups on the indolyl rings of the ligand are orientated so that there is some degree of interaction with the metal‒chloride bonds. The unexpected reactivity of 4 with Na[B{3,5-C6H3(CF3)2}4] is also reported. In this case, the product resulting from this reaction was found to be [Pt{3,5-C6H3(CF3)2}2{PPh2(C9H8N)}2].