University of Tasmania, Australia

Synthesis and reactivity of low valent Pd N-heterocyclic carbene complexes

We have recently prepared the first examples of Pd(I) NHC complexes. Their structures were fundamentally different in response to varying steric bulk of the NHC ligands, each respectively sharing the joint novelties of also being the first dipalladium(I) complexes with a terminal hydride ligand and a bridging hydride complex not stabilised by a Pd-Pd bond, respectively. The current project in this area seeks to further explore the synthesis of low valent species by in situ reduction of Pd(II) complexes under catalytically relevant reaction conditions and beginning a reactivity study of these species.