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Updated: May 28, 2026

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
Transformations of aryl isothiocyanates on tetraphosphine tungsten complexes and reactivity of the resulting
Qi Xiu Dai1, Hidetake Seino, Yasushi Mizobe
1Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Japan.
Abstract:
Treatment of [WH(4)(κ(4)-P4)] (3: P4 = meso-o-C(6)H(4)(PPhCH(2)CH(2)PPh(2))(2)) with aryl isothiocyanate ArNCS at 50 °C afforded the dithiocarbonimidate-isocyanide complex [W(κ(2)-S(2)CNAr)(CNAr)(κ(4)-P4)] (4) in moderate yields. The reaction also produced ArNHCH(3) and a small amount of ArNH(2). The yield of the hydrodesulfurization product ArNHCH(3) increased when the reaction was conducted under H(2) (up to 0.65 equiv. to 3 for Ar = p-MeC(6)H(4) (Tol)). Complex 4 was proposed to be formed via reductive disproportionation of two ArNCS molecules on a zero-valent W species generated by dissociation of H(2) from 3. The reaction of W(0) complex [W(dppe)(κ(4)-P4)] (dppe = Ph(2)PCH(2)CH(2)PPh(2)) with ArNCS also yielded 4 accompanied by free dppe, in contrast to that of [Mo(dppe)(κ(4)-P4)], which had been previously reported to undergo sulfur-atom transfer to phosphine ligands. The dithiocarbonimidate ligands in 4a (Ar = Tol) received the addition of electrophiles [PhMe(2)NH][BF(4)], MeI, and PhCOCl selectively at the N atom to afford the cationic dithiocarbamate complexes [W(κ(2)-S(2)CNHTol)(CNTol)(κ(4)-P4)][BF(4)] (6), [W{κ(2)-S(2)CN(Me)Tol}(CNTol)(κ(4)-P4)]I (7), and [W{κ(2)-S(2)CN(COPh)Tol}(CNTol)(κ(4)-P4)]Cl (8). Complexes 4a, 6, 7, and 8 have been characterized by spectroscopic and crystallographic methods, and the donor strengths of their κ(2)-dithio ligands are discussed.
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